Mercedes Sosa (born 9 July 1935, died 4 October 2009 in Buenos Aires) was a… Read Full Bio ↴Mercedes Sosa (born 9 July 1935, died 4 October 2009 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine singer inmensely popular throughout Latin America. With her roots in argentine folk music, she became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva trova (new song). Sosa is greatly admired for the depth and beauty of her contralto voice. She is respectfully nicknamed "La Negra" by her fans for her dark skin and dark hair - a very common term of affection in Latin America. Mercedes Sosa was loved and known by everyone in Argentina, especially for her political positions against the government that ruled the country and "disappeared" or murdered anyone suspected of being critical.

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)

La Flor Azul
Mercedes Sosa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Que solo me voy quedando
Mi viejo tunal
Oyendo cantar al río
Para el carnaval.

Me acompaña la esperanza
En la soledad
Cuando silva el huairamuyoj

Por el salitral.

Arbol fuiste bien coposo,
Pobre corazón
árbol que quedo sin hojas
Sin nidos, ni amor.

Dile, dile chacarera
A esa flor azul
Que de noche yo la busco
Por la cruz del sur.

Esa pena enamorada
Pena sin cesar
Buscando volverse copla
Pa' hacerme llorar.

Amalhaya con la suerte
Que a mi me ha tocao
Cantar por cantar, cantando
Sin ser escuchao.

Cuando recuerdo sus ojos
De dulce mirar,
Me acomodo con mi perro
Solito a pitar.

Dile, dile chacarera
A esa flor azul

Que de noche yo la busco
Por la cruz del sur.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mercedes Sosa's song "La Flor Azul" talk about feelings of loneliness and the search for love and companionship. The singer mentions being alone in a familiar place, hearing the river sing for the carnival, and being accompanied by hope. The lyrics also mention the imagery of an old tree that used to be full of leaves, nests, and love, but now stands leafless and empty. The song talks about a blue flower that the singer searches for at night under the Southern Cross, symbolizing his search for love and companionship.

The lyrics of "La Flor Azul" speak to the universal human need for love and companionship. The song paints a beautiful picture of nature and the search for meaning and purpose in life. The imagery of the old tree and the blue flower adds depth to the lyrics, and the plaintive melody and Sosa's soulful voice bring out the emotions in the song.

Line by Line Meaning

Que solo me voy quedando
I am feeling increasingly alone

Mi viejo tunal
My old home

Oyendo cantar al río
Listening to the river's song

Para el carnaval.
Preparing for the celebration

Me acompaña la esperanza
Hope keeps me company

En la soledad
In solitude

Cuando silva el huairamuyoj
When the huairamuyoj whistle

Por el salitral.
Over the salitral.

Árbol fuiste bien coposo,
You were once a leafy tree

Pobre corazón
That now stands bare and empty

Árbol que quedo sin hojas
A tree that lost its leaves