Gracias a la Vida (Thanks to Life) is one of the famous songs of Argentina's beloved folk singer, Mercedes Sosa, who died on October 5 from liver problems, aged 74.

Born in 1935 to a working class family in the northern Tucuman province, Sosa began her folk singing career at 15 when she won a talent competition under the name of Gladys Osorio. Chacarera and zamba were a part of her upbringing. She became known as the 'voice of Latin America' and she became the inspiration of the many of the opponents of South America's military regimes.

Till Victory

Her album ' Hasta La Victoria' released in 1972 was a showcase for her support for the communist and leftist parties at a time when such sympathies could lead to imprisonment and death. In 1979 she was detained together with the audience of 200 when she was performing in La Plata, but international pressure led to her release after 18 hours. She had to leave Argentina and travelled to Spain and France taking her songs and her political message with her. She returned to Argentina in 1982 where her concerts at the Teatro Colon, followed by a double album 'Mercedes Sosa en Argentina' cemented her popularity. 

Tango was only part of her repertoire

In the following years her fame and popularity grew and she won numerous awards for her music including Best Folk Album in the Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, 2003 and 2006.She released more than 70 albums and was notable for her versatility, her repertoire included Argentinian tango, Cuban nueva trova, Brazilian bossa nova, rock and even liturgical music. She performed with others from a diverse field of music including Pavarotti, Sting, Nanna Mouskouri and Shakira. in the UK she performed at London's Royal Festival Hall shortly after the Chilean dictator Augustus Pinochet had been detained. In her later years she became a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO. 

Buenos Aires came to a standstill as her body lay in state and thousands lined up to pay their respects to this much loved  singer and champion of the poor and disenfranchised.  Mercedes Sosa was twice married, both husbands deceased her and she is survived by a son from her first marriage.