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 carta
Mercedes Sosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Por el correo temprano
Y en esa carta me dicen
Que cayó preso mi hermano
Y sin lástima con grillos
Por las calles lo arrastraron, si
La carta dice el motivo
Haber apoyado el paro
Que ya se había resuelto
Si acaso esto es un motivo
Presa voy también sargento, si
Yo que me encuentro tan lejos
Esperando una noticia
Me viene a decir la carta
Que en mi patria no hay justicia
Los hambrientos piden pan
Plomo les da la milicia, si
Habrase visto insolencia
Barbárie y alevosía
De presentar el trabuco
Y matar a sangre fría
A quien defensa no tiene
Con las dos manos vacías, si
La carta que me mandaron
Me pide contestación
Yo pido que se propague
Por toda la población
Que el león es un sanguinario
En toda generación, si
Por suerte tengo guitarra
También tengo mi voz
También tengo siete hermanos
Fuera del que se engrilló
Todos revolucionarios
Con el favor de mi dios, si, si
The song "La Carta" by Mercedes Sosa tells the story of a letter that the singer receives about her brother being arrested for supporting a strike that had already been resolved. The lyrics express the singer's shock and anger at the injustice and cruelty of the situation, conveying a sense of helplessness and frustration at being far away and unable to help her brother.
The singer describes how the letter speaks of her brother being dragged through the streets in shackles, and how the military is killing those who have nothing to defend themselves with. The lyrics also criticize the government for their lack of justice and the military for their brutality towards their own people. The singer is asking for the news to be spread so that everyone can see the atrocities happening in their country.
Overall, "La Carta" is a powerful statement against injustice, oppression, and violence, and a testament to the power of music to express and inspire resistance.
Line by Line Meaning
Me mandaron una carta
I received a letter in the morning post
Por el correo temprano
Sent through the early mail
Y en esa carta me dicen
The letter contained a message
Que cayó preso mi hermano
Saying that my brother was arrested
Y sin lástima con grillos
And they dragged him through the streets without pity and in chains
Por las calles lo arrastraron, si
As the letter said, they had 'dragged him through the streets'
La carta dice el motivo
The letter explained the reason
Que ha cometido Roberto
For Roberto's supposed mistake
Haber apoyado el paro
For supporting the strike which had already ended
Que ya se había resuelto
The reason for his arrest
Si acaso esto es un motivo
If this is a reason
Presa voy también sargento, si
I too will be imprisoned, even as a soldier
Yo que me encuentro tan lejos
I, who am so far away
Esperando una noticia
And waiting for news
Me viene a decir la carta
The letter brought me the news
Que en mi patria no hay justicia
That justice is lacking in my homeland
Los hambrientos piden pan
The hungry cry out for bread
Plomo les da la milicia, si
But the military gives them bullets instead
Habrase visto insolencia
Have you seen such insolence
Barbárie y alevosía
Barbarism and treachery
De presentar el trabuco
Presenting their guns
Y matar a sangre fría
And killing in cold blood
A quien defensa no tiene
Those who have no defense
Con las dos manos vacías, si
Empty-handed, as the letter stated
La carta que me mandaron
The letter asked for a response
Me pide contestación
But I want to spread the word
Yo pido que se propague
That the lion is a bloody creature
Por toda la población
Through all the population
Que el león es un sanguinario
And I have my guitar, my voice, and seven brothers
En toda generación, si
All revolutionaries and with the help of my God, we will fight on.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Violeta Parra Sandoval
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MintLeaf19
A tantos años de "la carta" seguimos igual viviendo en medio de la injusticia, habría que remontar de una vez y por todas esta situación. Violeta Parra está mas vigente que nunca y Mercedes enorme. Saludos.
@gabrielmarin6284
Letra y voz de dos grandes mujeres ✊🏼💙
@cristinao.891
Simplemente sublime!
@ronald199116
Sigues en nuestros corazones.
@deadjeste82
Tengo anos pidiendo a companeros que cantaran este Himno a los caidos; al escuchar esta cancion estoy viviendo un dia del mes de mayo de 1982, cuando me llego una carta hablandome de mi hermano de quince anos y hasta hoy desaparecido en mi tierra El Salvador,triste cancion pero llena de verdades y dolores que espero un dia no la escuche alguien mas y sienta que es propia , en esta caso para mi , esta es la cancion de mi familia pero mas mia.
@leaarroyave495
Vamos Colombia 🇨🇴👏
@randresvidal
Impresionante interpretacion
@jesusrochag1
hooo my god puras canciones bellas
@lowrider692
great song...
@eddieondo4047
Que bela canción revolucionária.