death_date death_place years_active birth_place article_title relatives name background birth_date genre image origin birth_name occupation
4 october 2009 buenos aires , argentina 1950 -- 2009 san miguel de tucumán , tucumán , argentina mercedes sosa
 jeffy lurie mercedes sosa solo_singer 9 july 1935 folk , nueva canción mercedes sosa , by annemarie heinrich.jpg argentina haydée mercedes sosa singer , activist
mercedes sosa

haydée mercedes sosa -lrb- ; 9 july 1935 -- 4 october 2009 -rrb- , known as la negra -lrb- literally : `` the black woman '' -rrb- , was an argentine singer who was popular throughout latin america and many countries outside the continent .
with her roots in argentine folk music , sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción .
she gave voice to songs written by both brazilians and cubans .
she was best known as the `` voice of the voiceless ones '' .
sosa performed in venues such as the lincoln center in new york city , the théâtre mogador in paris and the sistine chapel in vatican city , as well as sell-out shows in new york 's carnegie hall and the roman colosseum during her final decade of life .
her career spanned four decades and she was the recipient of several grammy awards and nominations , including a posthumous latin grammy award for best folk album .
she served as an ambassador for unicef .
