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Mercedes Sosa was an acclaimed singer from Argentina who, when she died at the age of 74 in 2009, was hailed by the Latin Grammy Awards as "one of the great voices in popular music and long a symbol of resistance and human rights struggles". Nicknamed La Negra, she combined traditional folk music with pop and rock and recorded many albums following her first, 'La Voz de la Zafra' in 1959. She became famous around the world and won several Latin Grammy Awards. Known for sitting down as she performed, Sosa attracted a large following thanks to the warmth of her singing and the strength of her personality. Born into a poor family in northwest Argentina, she won a regional singing contest as a teenager and became part of her country's growing folk music movement. She was a leftist activist who survived the changing politics of Argentina even though she had to live abroad for a length of time. She toured Europe and America in the 1960s, made recordings and became especially busy in the '90s with many successful album releases. She recorded two albums of songs by Ariel Ramírez and Félix Luna and collaborated with several other artists including Joan Baez, Luciano Pavarotti and Sting. Her Latin Grammy Award-winning 2009 release 'Cantora Vol. 2' went to number eight on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums Chart and number 22 on the Top Latin Albums Chart. Compilation releases include 'Mercedes Sosa: 30 Años' (1995), 'Mercedes Sosa en Argentina' (2003) and 'La Negra: The Definitive Collection' (2011).
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