"To hear her voice, with its soul and energy, one can understand the excitement of the crowd. You can see why they are so glad to have her back where she belongs - on the stage - after a long absence in political exile. An artist of the highest order, she can mesmerize you like an Edith Piaf or a Cesaria Evora, but like all great artists, she belongs in a class of her own.Her voice is a warm, smooth alto that is as effective in a soft lull as it is in full throttle. Sosa possesses a truly an amazing set of pipes. In this recording, she is ON, and the audience knows it, and, boy, can they show their appreciation!Buy this CD and own not only a beautiful recording of great songs but a beautiful recording of a great moment in history, too!P.S.: Check out fellow Argentian Atahualpa Yupanqui and also Violetta Para, who wrote 'Gracias a la Vida.'"
The best mercedes sosa compilation
ulylulylu | 02/13/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One of the greatest voices in the world, Mercedes Sosa was compared to Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday, and justly so.
During four decades, Mercedes Sosa has been the voice of her people in argentina. she sang about the poverty and was the clear voice against her goverment, when people were kidnaped and killed for speaking their mind. Mercedes Sosa exhaled from argentina at the end of the 70's and came back at 82 for three historical live concerts. The goverment warned Sosa not to perform, but she wouldn't listen. Thank god.
Performing live all her great songs, back at home, she shines and brings you to tears in superb songs like "GRACIAS A LA VIDA", "MARIA VA" and "SOLO LE PIDO A DIOS".
This album is the best Mercedes Sosa compilation and is highly recommended."
Mercedes' legacy
O. M. Suarez | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | 01/17/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Now that Mercedes is gone I cherised this album as the pinnacle of her legacy.
1982: Argentina's most brutal military dictatorship was ebbing out. Mercedes, as many socially conscientious Argentines, had been sent into exile. This CD is her coming back to her Motherland, recorded live for the thousands of eager souls waiting for a song of hope. Originally released as a double LP, this masterpiece has the very rare ability to reflect the mood of Mercedes and her audience. Some of the songs included are among the most beautiful Latin American folk tunes by songwriters like Violeta Parra, Charly García, Ariel Ramírez, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, César Isella. There is a moving rendition of Violeta's "Gracias a la vida," which in Mercedes' voice becomes a powerful message of love for life. Argentine traditional folk music is represented best by "Al Jardín de la República," an homage to Mercedes' cradle: the Northwestern province of Tucumán. This CD is an icon in the struggle of the Latin American people, that is synthesized in one of its best songs: "Canción con Todos," the strongest call for Latin American unity. Of all CD's by Mercedes, I would pick this one as her best ever."
A CD for the Latin American History
O. M. Suarez | 08/12/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"1982: Argentina's most brutal military dictatorship was ebbing out. Mercedes had been sent into exile. This is her coming back recorded live for the thousands of eager souls waiting for a song of hope. This CD is an icon in the struggle of the Latin American people, that is synthesized in one of its best songs: "Canción con Todos.""
THE VOICE AND CONSCIOUSNESS OF A TRAGIC HISTORY
Juan Mobili | Valley Cottage, NY USA | 11/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It is probably impossible to find new words to praise Mercedes Sosa's voice and place in Argentina's popular music. Through the better part of the last forty years, Mercedes has been the tender and fierce voice of everyone who has been suppressed and quieted by injustice, in Latin America. An exquisite tone and profound interpretation of each song she's chosen to sing has made her a goddess in Latin America and Europe.
Here's a true artist and a committed citizen, singing songs that make no concessions to their beauty nor their message.
This CD is probably her best in many levels, her choices here, cover every song she's made a classic, and the fact this concert marked her return to Buenos Aires -after her exile during the years of Argentina's "infamous decade"- proves that courage must exist closely to creativity to be timeless.
Here you'll find some of the best work from Latin America: Como La Cigarra (Maria Elena Walsh), Solo Le Pido A Dios (Leon Gieco), Sueño Con Serpientes (Milton Nascimento), and many more great renditions of the best composers from the South of America.
William Carlos Williams said that "there are no news in poetry / yet people die, miserably, / from the lack of what is found there." Well, here is some of that poetry, which I know nourished me and so many others, during some of the worst moments of our beleaguered country.
Five starts because I could not give it ten!"