Mercedes Sosa

9 July 1935 – 4 October 2009

Mercedes Sosa was an Argentine singer known as 'La Negra' and a leading voice of the Nueva Canción movement in Latin America. Celebrated for her powerful contralto and socially engaged repertoire, she endured exile under Argentina's military dictatorship and became an enduring symbol of the region's folk and protest music.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Mercedes Sosa.

Life events

Born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
9 July 1935

She was born into a working-class family of indigenous and French descent.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Won a local radio singing contest
1950

As a teenager she won a competition that launched her singing career.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Co-founded the Nuevo Cancionero movement
1963

She helped launch the manifesto and movement renewing Argentine folk music.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Released Mujeres Argentinas
1969

The acclaimed album helped establish her as a major interpreter of Latin American song.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Arrested on stage during a concert
1979

She and her audience were detained by authorities under the military dictatorship.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Went into exile in Europe
1979

Facing threats, she left Argentina and lived in Paris and Madrid.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Returned to Argentina
1982

She returned and gave celebrated homecoming concerts at the Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Released Cantora, her final album
2009

The duets album won Latin Grammy Awards and was released shortly before her death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in Buenos Aires
4 October 2009

She died of multiple organ failure; Argentina declared days of national mourning.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓