Sosa was born in TucumƔn, 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 canciĆ³n 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 RamĆrez and lyricist FĆ©lix 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 ParĆs.
Sosa's repertoire continued to broaden, and she made recordings in various styles. She collaborated frequently with Argentine musicians such as LeĆ³n Gieco, Charly GarcĆa, Antonio TarragĆ³ Ros, Rodolfo Mederos and Fito PĆ”ez, and other Latin American artists such as Milton Nascimento and Silvio RodrĆguez.
Sosa participated in a 2001 production of the Misa Criolla by Ariel RamĆrez.
Mercedes Sosa's website(in Spanish)
CanciĆ³n Para Carito
Mercedes Sosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con tu mirada recordando el litoral
Tu suerte quiso estar partida, mitad verdad, mitad mentira
Como esperanza de los pobres prometida
Andando solo bajo la llovizna gris
Fingiendo duro que tu vida fue de aquĆ
ĀæPor quĆ© cambiaste un mar de gente por donde gobierna la flor?
Carito suelta tu pena
Se haga diamante tu lagrima entre mis cuerdas
Carito suelta tu piedra
Para volar como el zorzal en primavera
En Buenos Aires los zapatos son modernos
Pero no lucen como en la plaza de un pueblo
Deja que tu luz, chiquitita, le hable en secreto a la canciĆ³n
Para que te acaricie un poco mas el sol
Cualquier semilla cuando es planta quiere ver
La misma estrella de aquel atardecer
Que la salvĆ³ del pico agudo, refugiĆ”ndola en lo oscuro
De la gaviota arrasadora de los surcos
Carito yo soy tu amiga
Me ofrezco Ɣrbol para tu nido
Carito suelta tu canto que el abanico
En mi acordeĆ³n lo estĆ” esperando
The song "CanciĆ³n Para Carito" by Mercedes Sosa is a powerful representation of the struggles faced by those who leave their homes and struggle to fit into new surroundings. The lyrics tell the story of Carito, who is sitting alone in a city, reminiscing about the shore. Carito is feeling divided, with half of their life true and half a lie, like a promise of hope to the poor. Despite the hardships of living in a new place, Carito is pretending that their life has always been in the city, but the song questions why they left behind a sea of people for a land where flowers reign but the river doesn't reflect the color.
The song encourages Carito to let go of their pain and release their tears like diamonds among the strings of a guitar. The lyrics ask Carito to let go of their burden and soar like a bird in the springtime. The song reminds Carito that even though the city may have modern shoes, it cannot replicate the feeling of old town plazas, and encourages them to let their light shine and sing their heart out.
Line by Line Meaning
Sentado solo en un banco en la ciudad
You are alone and seated on a bench in the city
Con tu mirada recordando el litoral
You're reminiscing about the coast with your gaze
Tu suerte quiso estar partida, mitad verdad, mitad mentira
Your luck has been split between truth and lies
Como esperanza de los pobres prometida
Offered as hope for the poor
Andando solo bajo la llovizna gris
Walking alone under the gray drizzle
Fingiendo duro que tu vida fue de aqui
Pretending hard that your life was from here
ĀæPor quĆ© cambiaste un mar de gente por donde gobierna la flor?
Why did you trade a sea of people for where the flower reigns?
Mira que al rĆo nunca regalĆ³ el color
See how the river never gave away its color
Carito suelta tu pena
Carito, release your sorrow
Se haga diamante tu lƔgrima entre mis cuerdas
Let your tears turn into diamonds between my strings
Carito suelta tu piedra
Carito, let go of your burden
Para volar como el zorzal en primavera
So you can fly like a thrush in the spring
En Buenos Aires los zapatos son modernos
In Buenos Aires, the shoes are trendy
Pero no lucen como en la plaza de un pueblo
But they don't look the same as in a village square
Deja que tu luz, chiquitita, le hable en secreto a la canciĆ³n
Let your little light secretly speak to the song
Para que te acaricie un poco mƔs el sol
So the sun can caress you a little more
Cualquier semilla cuando es planta quiere ver
Every seed wants to see when it grows into a plant
La misma estrella de aquel atardecer
The same star as that sunset
Que la salvĆ³ del pico agudo, refugiĆ”ndola en lo oscuro
That saved it from the sharp beak, sheltering it in the darkness
De la gaviota arrasadora de los surcos
Of the devastating seagull of the grooves
Carito yo soy tu amiga
Carito, I am your friend
Me ofrezco Ɣrbol para tu nido
I offer a tree for your nest
Carito suelta tu canto que el abanico
Carito, release your song as the fan
En mi acordeĆ³n lo estĆ” esperando
Is waiting for it in my accordion
Lyrics Ā© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: A. Tarrago Ros, L. Gieco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@saralopez3335
Sentado solo en un banco en la ciudad
Con tu mirada recordando el litoral
Tu suerte quiso estar partida, mitad verdad, mitad mentira
Como esperanza de los pobres prometida
Andando solo bajo la llovizna gris
Fingiendo duro que tu vida fue de aquĆ
ĀæPorque cambiaste un mar de gente por donde gobierna la flor?
Mira que al rĆo nunca le falto el color
Carito suelta tu pena
Se haga diamante tu lagrima entre mis cuerdas
Carito suelta tu piedra
Para volar como el zorzal en primavera
En Buenos Aires los zapatos son modernos
Pero no lucen como en la plaza de un pueblo
Deja que tu luz, chiquitita, le hable en secreto a la canciĆ³n
Para que te ilumine un poco mas el sol
Cualquier semilla cuando es planta quiere ver la
Misma estrella de aquel atardecer
Que la salvo del pico agudo, refugiƔndola en lo oscuro
De la gaviota arrasadora de los surcos
Carito yo soy tu amigo
Me ofrezco Ɣrbol para tu nido
Carito suelta tu canto que el abanico
En mi acordeĆ³n lo esta esperando
@vikilu7239
Esta canciĆ³n me recuerda a mi papĆ”... le gustaba mucho, a casi 1 mes de que volĆ³ muy alto. PapĆ” te extraƱo con todo mi corazĆ³n š
@claudiavivianaavedikian2157
Siempre le canto esta canciĆ³n a mi sobrina Carolina cuando estĆ” callada y pensativa a quien llamo Carito ā„ļø
@orlandoaragon3559
Haciendo un voluntariado en Alemania, conocĆ a dos Caros, una mexicana y otra argentina, Ć©sta canciĆ³n me recuerda a ellas, cada quiĆ©n a su manera, pero marcaron para bien mi vida y ahora tengo los buenos recuerdos y momentos y quizĆ”s unas grandes amistades para lo que resta āŗļø
@ericasabadini768
La canciĆ³n que me cantaba mi viejito de pequeƱa! Gracias Mercedes por tu voz y por tus letras con el alma. ā¤ļø
@lgevalen
bellisimo... te fuiste sin tener el honor de escuchar tu musica en vivo, pero te queremos siempre....viviras en nuestros corazones...desde Honduras
@hugovazquez9654
Gracias Luis!!
@amaliacastrogarcia2049
Agradezco con todo mi corazĆ³n a Mercedes Sosa, LeĆ³n Gieco y Antonio TarragĆ³ Ros, me acariciaron el alma con esta hermosa canciĆ³n que me recuerda a mi Carito, mi hermanita, quien un dĆa saliĆ³ del interior para ir a la capital Peruana, llena de ilusiones. ā„ļø
@osvaldovallejos9904
Los mas grade mama.mĆØcede con amor
@mandresacl
No puedo escuchar esta canciĆ³n sin que una lĆ”grima caiga. Es una belleza. Como la presencia que extraƱarĆ© por siempre. Los discos son mis joyas y hoy, con tu partida, te pido abraces por mĆ a la Violeta, que te inspiraba y te esperaba.
@mariacristina6460
Cuanto nos haces falta tu mĆŗsica,tu voz,tu presencia Ćŗnica.Siempre querida Mercedes Sosa.