It's been a grim year for music losses. Of course, we had a King of Pop, the Princess of Andean Folk, and, although she's without a royal title, Argentinian folk icon Mercedes Sosa as well. Lovingly called La Negra for her dark hair, the singer passed away this past Sunday of kidney failure at the age of 74.Back in the 70s, she recorded a version of Violetta Parra's "Gracias a la Vida" - "Thanks to Life," which became a prized song for South American leftists in those tumultuous times. Coming from the working-class sugar town of Tucuman, she became a member of the Communist Party in 1976, the start of the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla during Argentina's "Dirty War." Her music was banned from airplay and was exiled to France and Spain in 1979, spending three years there before returning.
She came back this year with a big collaboration project "Cantora," which was ranked #1 in literally every Argentinian music store I went into this past August and also nominated for three awards at the upcoming Latin Grammy awards.
Thank you, the Black One, for your song and your struggle.
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