Mercedes Sosa: The Voice of Latin America 2013
Distributed by First Run Features, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036; 212-243-0600
Produced by Cinema 7 Films
Directed by Rodrigo H. Vila
DVD , color, 93 min., Spanish, French, and Portuguese with English subtitles
General Adult
Music
Date Entered: 05/27/2014
Reviewed by Bonnie Jo Dopp, Librarian Emerita, University of MarylandThis film is a loving tribute to Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009), an Argentinian woman with a beautiful singing voice who was passionate about her artistic integrity. After a military junta in 1976, her performances were banned in Argentina so she moved to Europe for several years and continued building an international reputation as a singer in the socially conscious folksong style of Nueva Canción. Her concerts nearly always included Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a la vida,” her most famous single selection. This program uses short excerpts from filmed concerts and interviews with Sosa but is mainly filled with reminiscences from her friends and family with a bit of world beat perspective on her influence from David Byrne. It contains too many unfocused statements and not enough music to be an important source of either biographical or cultural information.