Mercedes Sosa, a voice that will never go silent

I could not let another day go by without adding to the resounding chorus of those grieving for Argentinean singer Mercedes Sosa. The folk singer died Sunday after decades of giving voice to people throughout Latin America.



The Grammy-winning singer was famous for songs that called for social justice, which earned her government censorship and led to her exile to Europe for a time to avoid threats by government death squads. She was hugely popular in Latin America but was well-known throughout the world. Audiences flocked to see Sosa, who sold out venues as varied as Carnegie Hall and the Coliseum in Rome.

Now, it is our turn to sing. To sing her songs. To sing our own. To sing anything that keeps her dream alive of a more unified world. If anything, to properly mourn her passing. A missive from the singer's family on her official web site makes it imperative: "What made Mercedes happiest was singing. ... That's how we would like to remember her and we invite you accompany us."

In the video above, she sings in Spanish the song written by another exiled artist, Chilean Julio Numhauser:

" ... Change, everything changes
But my love does not change,
No matter how very far away I find myself,
Nor the remembrance or the pain
of my village and of my people
That which changed yesterday
will change tomorrow
Just the same as I change
in this far away land,"

Translation: courtesy singer/songwriter Sara Thomsen