26 Facts About Mercedes Sosa

Mercedes Sosa gave voice to songs written by many Latin American songwriters.

Mercedes Sosa's music made people hail her as the "voice of the voiceless ones".

Mercedes Sosa performed in venues such as the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Theatre Mogador in Paris and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, as well as sell-out shows in New York's Carnegie Hall and the Roman Colosseum during her final decade of life.

Mercedes Sosa's career spanned four decades and she was the recipient of six Latin Grammy awards, including a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and two posthumous Latin Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2009 and 2011.

Mercedes Sosa won the Premio Gardel in 2000, the main musical award in Argentina.

Mercedes Sosa was born on 9 July 1935, in San Miguel de Tucuman, in the northwestern Argentine province of Tucuman, of mestizo ancestry.

Mercedes Sosa's parents were Peronists, although they never registered in the party, and she started her career as a singer for the Peronist Party in Provincia Tucuman under the name Gladys Osorio.

Mercedes Sosa recorded her first album, La Voz de la Zafra, in 1959.

In 1967, Mercedes Sosa toured the United States and Europe with great success.

Mercedes Sosa recorded a tribute to Chilean musician Violeta Parra in 1971, including what was to become one of Sosa's signature songs, Gracias a la Vida.

Mercedes Sosa increased the popularity of songs written by Milton Nascimento of Brazil and Pablo Milanes and Silvio Rodriguez both from Cuba.

Mercedes Sosa faced death threats against both her and her family, but refused for many years to leave the country.

At a concert in La Plata in 1979, Mercedes Sosa was searched and arrested on stage, along with all those attending the concert.

Mercedes Sosa returned to Argentina from her exile in Europe in 1982, several months before the military regime collapsed as a result of the Falklands War, and gave a series of concerts at the Teatro Opera in Buenos Aires, where she invited many of her younger colleagues to share the stage.

In subsequent years, Mercedes Sosa continued to tour both in Argentina and abroad, performing in such venues as the Lincoln Center in New York City and the Theatre Mogador in Paris.

Mercedes Sosa opposed President Carlos Menem, who was in office from 1989 to 1999, and supported the election of Nestor Kirchner, who became president in 2003.

Mercedes Sosa was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mercedes Sosa participated in a 1999 production of Ariel Ramirez's Misa Criolla.

Mercedes Sosa was the former co-chair of the Earth Charter International Commission.

Mercedes Sosa won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2000,2003,2006,2009, and 2011, as well as several international awards.

Mercedes Sosa is survived by one son, Fabian Matus, born of her first marriage.

Mercedes Sosa's website featured the following: "Mercedes Sosa's undisputed talent, her honesty and her profound convictions leave a great legacy to future generations".

Mercedes Sosa's body was placed on display at the National Congress building in Buenos Aires for the public to pay their respects, and President Fernandez de Kirchner ordered three days of national mourning.

Mercedes Sosa's obituary in The Daily Telegraph said she was "an unrivalled interpreter of works by her compatriot, the Argentine Atahualpa Yupanqui, and Chile's Violeta Parra".

Mercedes Sosa received three Latin Grammy nominations for her album, in 2009.

Mercedes Sosa went on to win Best Folk Album about a month after her death.