Celebrating Mercedes Sosa

"I never thought that I would sing for a living," said Mercedes Sosa, the powerful Argentinian vocalist widely known as “the voice of the voiceless ones.” Also known as “La Negra” due to her long, black hair, Sosa’s powerful voice afforded her opportunities to perform at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum in Rome. A driving force behind the “Nueva Canción” movement, her songs married traditional South American folk music with powerful lyrics advocating for human rights.

Born on July 9, 1935 in the northern Argentine province of Tucumán, Mercedes Sosa’s family lineage came from the indigenous Aymara people. Her heritage deeply influenced her stylistically and by 15, she won a radio talent contest for her traditional folk music. A dramatic tipping point of her career happened on this day in 1965, when singer Jorge Cafrune invited Sosa on stage during his set at Argentina’s renowned Cosquín Folk Festival. Her performance received a massive ovation and by the following year, she had signed a recording contract.

Many of Sosa's best-known songs were written by others, but her performances of songs like Violeta Parra’s "Gracias a la Vida" (Thanks to Life) and Horacio Guarany’s “Si Se Calla El Cantor” (If the Singer is Silenced) helped catapult her into fame. She released some 70 albums over the course of nearly a six-decade career, exploring diverse genres such as Argentinian tango, Cuban nueva trova, Brazilian bossa nova, rock, and sacred music. In later years, she collaborated with artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Joan Baez, and even Shakira.

Fearlessly singing truth to power, she went into exile from her homeland for several years and was finally able to return home in 1982. She continued to perform around the world and later became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.

Here’s to La Negra!

Today’s Doodle was created by guest artist Shanti Rittgers. Below, she shares some thoughts on Sosa and the Doodle:

Q: Do you have a favorite Mercedes Sosa song?

A: Everything she sings sounds so good, it’s hard to choose… So far, I keep going back to “Luna Tucumana.” It’s a beautiful song, one that makes me think of melancholic tangos, fleeting feelings of intimacy and grappling with inner troubles. English lyric translations further helped me understand the context, and built a romantic vision of Mercedes singing to the moon, wistful and alone on a winding midnight path.  

Q: What quality in her music did you seek to express in the Doodle?

A: Her resonance. She can sing the deepest, saddest song or the brightest tune, and regardless her voice hits you like a river of wind and carries you away.

Q: What inspired your selection of a brown, black, and red palette?

A: In this case, reds and browns help create an earthy final color palette. In photos, she’s often wearing red and black patterned ponchos of Native cultural descent, and black is relative to one of her nicknames, “La Negra.”

Q: What can you tell us about the percussion instrument Mercedes is playing in one of your initial sketches?

A: The Bombo is a drum of Argentinean origin, and though it is large the sound produced from it can be considerably soft. I included it in the final after hearing and seeing Mercedes Sosa play it in many songs. I believe it was a symbolic and favorite instrument of hers throughout her career.