Con sabor a Mercedes Sosa

‘Con sabor a Mercedes Sosa’ is an album that shows an artist at the peak of her vocal and interpretive maturity. Recorded at RCA studios in 1968, the album presents an eclectic repertoire ranging from traditional folk to singer-songwriter music and tango, demonstrating Mercedes’ versatility and her ability to make various genres her own without losing her identity. The title, ‘Con sabor a Mercedes Sosa’, suggests that each song, no matter how diverse, carries her personal stamp, her unique and unmistakable imprint.

The album includes songs such as ‘La zafrera’, ‘Chacarera de las piedras’ and ‘La mamá más linda’, along with versions of classics like ‘Gracias a la vida’ (Violeta Parra) that Mercedes would make famous worldwide years later. Her voice sounds more mature and confident, with a range that unfolds in all its splendor and an expressiveness that knows how to reach directly into the listener’s heart. The arrangements are more elaborate, with strings and winds that give a more sophisticated texture to the sound without losing the folk essence.

The legacy of ‘Con sabor a Mercedes Sosa’ is that of an album that anticipates the leap to mass popularity that Mercedes would make with ‘Mujeres argentinas’ the following year. Critics highlighted her interpretive quality and the maturity of her artistic choices, and the public began to respond with greater enthusiasm. It is a transitional album, in which Mercedes prepares to become the ‘Voice of Latin America’ and to take her singing to stages across the continent and the world.