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)
Los mareados
Mercedes Sosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La vi bebiendo, linda y fatal
Bebías y en el fragor del champan
Lo que reía por no llorar
Pena me dio encontrarte
Pues al mirarte yo vi brillar
Tus ojos con un eléctrico ardor
Esta noche, amiga mía
El alcohol nos ha embriagado
Qué me importa que se rían
Que nos llamen los mareados
Cada cual tiene sus penas y
Nosotros las tenemos
Esta noche beberemos porque ya
No volveremos a vernos mas
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado
En el pasado de mi vida
Tres cosas lleva el alma herida
Amor, pesar, dolor
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado
Y hoy nuevas sendas tomaremos
Que grande ha sido nuestro amor
Y sin embargo ay, mira lo que quedó
Esta noche, amiga mía
El alcohol nos ha embriagado
Qué me importa que se rían
Que nos llamen los mareados
Cada cual tiene sus penas
Y nosotros las tenemos
Esta noche beberemos porque ya
No volveremos a vernos mas
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado
En el pasado de mi vida
Tres cosas lleva mi alma herida
Amor, pesar, dolor
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado
Hoy nuevas sendas tomaremos
Que grande a sido nuestro amor
Y sin embargo ay, mira lo que quedó
The lyrics to Mercedes Sosa's song Los Mareados describe the feeling of two individuals who come across each other after a long time and find solace in each other's company. The singer sees the woman drinking heavily to mask her pain and sorrow. Despite the electric ardor that shines in her eyes, the singer can see the familiar pain that once tormented them both in their past. As they drink and reminisce about the past, they find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their pain.
The lyrics also shed light on the temporary escape that alcohol provides from the harsh realities of life. The two protagonists are drunk and declare that they don't care if others ridicule and call them "los mareados" (the dizzy). They reveal that everyone carries their own burdens and tonight they will drink because they know they will never see each other again.
The lyrics of Los Mareados touch upon themes such as love, loss, pain, and the escapism that alcohol provides. They are a reminder that even though we may separate from people we love, the memories and emotions always stay with us.
Line by Line Meaning
Rara como encendida
I saw her drinking, lovely and deadly in a strange and fiery way
La vi bebiendo, linda y fatal
I saw her drinking, lovely and deadly
Bebías y en el fragor del champan
You drank, lost in the excitement of champagne
Lo que reía por no llorar
You laughed to avoid crying
Pena me dio encontrarte
I felt sorrow upon finding you
Pues al mirarte yo vi brillar
For upon looking at you, I saw a shining
Tus ojos con un eléctrico ardor
Electric fervor in your eyes
Tus bellos ojos que tanto adoré
Those beautiful eyes that I adored so much
Esta noche, amiga mía
This evening, my friend
El alcohol nos ha embriagado
Alcohol has intoxicated us
Qué me importa que se rían
I don't care if they laugh at us
Que nos llamen los mareados
Let them call us the dizzy ones
Cada cual tiene sus penas y
Everyone has their own troubles and
Nosotros las tenemos
We have ours
Esta noche beberemos porque ya
Tonight we'll drink because we'll never
No volveremos a vernos mas
See each other again
Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado
Today you enter my past
En el pasado de mi vida
Into the history of my life
Tres cosas lleva el alma herida
The wounded soul carries three things
Amor, pesar, dolor
Love, sadness, pain
Hoy nuevas sendas tomaremos
Today we'll take new paths
Que grande ha sido nuestro amor
How great our love has been
Y sin embargo ay, mira lo que quedó
And yet, oh, look what's left
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alberto T Weisbach, Enrique Domingo Cadicamo, Juan Carlos Cobian, Raul Pedro Doblas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wilman forigua
No puedo oírla sin destrozar mi corazón. Gracias por este legado y esta identidad sudamericana y latinoamericana. Gracias Mercedes por tu voz y tu profundidad.
Daniel Santoro
¿Alguien puede escuchar este tango sin lágrimas en los ojos?
Lucrecia Darko
Este disco es una maravilla del mundo , por Mercedes Y los musicos. Ese BANDONEON!!!!!!
Horacio Romo
Versión inigualable!!! Se te extraña Negra!
dasan2005
Impresionante interpretación. Traspasa el alma.
Marvin Hernandez
Crecí escuchando a mi madre cantarla dulcemente mientras giraba ese maravilloso disco en el pico, TE amo infinitamente MADRE hermosa, que el universo te proteja siempre
Lilian Ponce Rodriguez
La mejor versión de este maravilloso tango, intenso, triste, hermoso hasta las lágrimas.
Ricardo Alfredo Ortellado
Para mi gusto, la mejor interpretación de este precioso tango...
Ana Gonzalez
❤️
Mauricio Luque Obando
Preciosa version de esta cancion, que en la voz de la querida Negra Mercedes cala hasta el fondo del alma, trae recuerdos y muerde el corazon. Una unica cosa ... cuando el amor es amor, duele asi, tan descarnadamente, pero cuando miras "lo que quedo" resulta que siempre es Amor