- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHaydeé Mercedes Sosa
- Nickname
- La Negra
- Mercedes Sosa was born on July 9, 1935 in Tucumán, Tucumán Province, Argentina. She was a composer and actress, known for The Two Popes (2019), Güemes - la tierra en armas (1971) and Che: Part Two (2008). She was married to Manuel Oscar Matus and Pocho Mazitelli. She died on October 4, 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- SpousesManuel Oscar Matus(1957 - 1965) (divorced, 1 child)Pocho Mazitelli(? - 1978) (his death)
- In 1992 she was honored as "Ciudadano Ilustre de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires" ("Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires").
- She was a leading figure in the "nueva cancion" musical movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which blended traditional folk music with politically-charged lyrics about government brutality and the poor.
- Her signature song, "Gracias a la Vida" (Thanks to Life) was written by Chilean songwriter Violeta Parra.
- She won a local radio station's amateur talent contest when she was 15.
- Artists are not political leaders. The only power they have is to draw people into the theater.
- When you are in exile, you take your suitcase, but there are things that don't fit. There are things in your mind, like colors and smells and childhood attitudes, and there is also the pain and the death you saw.
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