Sosa was born in Tucumán, a northwestern province of Argentina, of mestizo descent from French and Amerindian (Quechuan) ancestry. In 1950, at age fifteen, she won a singing competition organized by a local radio station and was given a contract to perform for two months.
Sosa and her first husband Manuel Oscar Matus were key players in the mid-60s nueva canción movement (which was called nuevo cancionero in Argentina). Her first record was Canciones con Fundamento (Songs with Fundament), a collection of Argentine folk songs.
In 1967, Sosa toured with great success the United States and Europe. In subsequent years, she performed and recorded extensively, broadening her repertoire to include material from throughout Latin America.
In the early 1970s, Sosa released two concept albums in collaboration with composer Ariel Ramírez and lyricist Félix Luna: Cantata Sudamericana (South American Cantata) and Mujeres Argentinas (Argentine Women). She also recorded a tribute to Chilean poet Violeta Parra.
After the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla came to power, the atmosphere in Argentina grew increasingly oppressive. At a concert in La Plata (Buenos Aires) in 1979, Sosa was searched and arrested on stage, and the attending crowd was arrested. Banned in her own country, she moved to Paris and then to Madrid.
Sosa returned to Argentina in 1982, several months before the military regime collapsed as a result of the Falklands War, and gave a series of concerts at the Opera theater in Buenos Aires, where she invited many of her younger colleagues to share the stage. A double album of recordings from these performances became an instant best seller.
In the following years, Sosa continued to tour both in Argentina and abroad, performing in such venues as the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Mogador in París.
Sosa's repertoire continued to broaden, and she made recordings in various styles. She collaborated frequently with Argentine musicians such as León Gieco, Charly García, Antonio Tarragó Ros, Rodolfo Mederos and Fito Páez, and other Latin American artists such as Milton Nascimento and Silvio Rodríguez.
Sosa participated in a 2001 production of the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez.
Mercedes Sosa's website(in Spanish)
Al Jardin De La Republica
Mercedes Sosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La alegre zamba que canto aquí
Y que bailan los tucumanos
Con entusiasmo propio de allí
Cada cual sigue a su pareja
Joven o viejos, de todo vi
Media vuelta y la compañera
Viene el gaucho, le hace un floreo
Y un zapateo comienza allí
Sigue el gaucho con su floreo
Y el zapateo termina aquí
Para las otras, no
Pa' las del Norte, sí
Para las tucumanas
Mujer galana, naranjo en flor
Todo lo que ellas quieran
Que la primera ya terminó
No me olvido, viera, compadre
De aquellos bailes que hacen allí
Tucumanos y tucumanas
Todos se afanan por divertir
Y hacer linda esta mala vida
Así se olvidan que hay que sufrir
Empanadas y vino en jarra
Una guitarra, bombo y violín
Y unas cuantas mozas bizarras
Pa' que la farra pueda seguir
Sin que falten esos coleros
Viejos cuenteros, que hagan reír
Para las otras, no
Pa' las del Norte, sí
Para las de Simoca
Mis ansias locas de estar allí
Para brindarles mi alma
En esta zamba que canto aquí
The lyrics to Mercedes Sosa's song "Al Jardín De La República" depict the joyous celebration of a traditional Tucuman dance, the zamba. The singer, who hails from the north, brings the zamba in her soul and sings about how it is danced with enthusiasm by the people of Tucumán. The dance involves partners following each other, with a gaucho (cowboy) joining in to showcase his skills with a floreo (a whip-like tool) and zapateo (foot stomping). In the midst of the joyous dance, the people forget their troubles and strife, and simply focus on enjoying life.
The singer's lyrics also showcase her love for the women of Tucumán, praising them as "mujer galana, naranjo en flor" (elegant women, like blossoming oranges). She expresses her desire to be with them, singing about how her "crazy desires" lead her to want to be there to offer her soul in the zamba.
Overall, the lyrics of "Al Jardín De La República" offer a beautiful description of a cultural dance that brings joy and happiness to the people of Tucumán.
Line by Line Meaning
Desde el Norte, traigo en el alma
I bring in my soul from the North
La alegre zamba que canto aquí
The cheerful zamba that I sing here
Y que bailan los tucumanos
And that the people from Tucumán dance
Con entusiasmo propio de allí
With enthusiasm typical of that place
Cada cual sigue a su pareja
Everyone follows their partner
Joven o viejos, de todo vi
Young or old, I saw it all
Media vuelta y la compañera
Half a turn and the partner
Forma una rueda para seguir
Forms a circle to continue
Viene el gaucho, le hace un floreo
The gaucho comes, makes a flourish
Y un zapateo comienza allí
And a tap dance starts there
Sigue el gaucho con su floreo
The gaucho continues with his flourish
Y el zapateo termina aquí
And the tap dance ends here
Para las otras, no
Not for the others
Pa' las del Norte, sí
But for those from the North
Para las tucumanas
For the women from Tucumán
Mujer galana, naranjo en flor
Elegant woman, flowering orange tree
Todo lo que ellas quieran
Whatever they want
Que la primera ya terminó
Since the first one already ended
No me olvido, viera, compadre
I don't forget, you see, my friend
De aquellos bailes que hacen allí
About those dances they have there
Tucumanos y tucumanas
People from Tucumán
Todos se afanan por divertir
Everyone strives to have fun
Y hacer linda esta mala vida
And make this bad life beautiful
Así se olvidan que hay que sufrir
That's how they forget that they have to suffer
Empanadas y vino en jarra
Empanadas and wine in a jar
Una guitarra, bombo y violín
A guitar, bass drum, and violin
Y unas cuantas mozas bizarras
And a few strange girls
Pa' que la farra pueda seguir
So the party can continue
Sin que falten esos coleros
Without those storytellers missing
Viejos cuenteros, que hagan reír
Old storytellers, that make us laugh
Para las otras, no
Not for the others
Pa' las del Norte, sí
But for those from the North
Para las de Simoca
For the women from Simoca
Mis ansias locas de estar allí
My wild desire to be there
Para brindarles mi alma
To offer them my soul
En esta zamba que canto aquí
In this zamba that I sing here
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Virgilio Ramon Carmona
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind