Grade 3, Unit 3, Lesson 6
Many musicians have used their voices and instruments
to fight against things that are not fair. For example,
in the United States in the 1960s, people sang songs to
spread a civil rights message in support of African Americans.
Just like these musicians, Mercedes Sosa (b. 1935) has
used her music to fight for human rights and democracy.
In the 1970s, she began to sing songs about her country
of Argentina. These songs talked about the many bad things
that were happening in her country. Because she didn't
have good things to say about the government, they made
her leave Argentina even though she wanted to stay.
When she returned to Argentina in 1982, people were very
excited. She held a huge concert in Buenos Aires, the
capital of Argentina. There was a new government, and
everyone was very happy. Today, Mercedes still sings all
over the world, making sure that people know about places
where there are people who are suffering.
Mercedes sings a style of music called nueva canción,
which in Spanish mean "new song." It is called "new song"
because it mixes older, traditional music with new lyrics.
Besides nueva canción, Mercedes also sings songs written
by musicians from other countries, like Chile, Israel,
Brazil, and Italy.
1. Mercedes once said "Changing, everything is changing."
(In Spanish, it is Cambia, todo cambia.) After
reading about her life, why do you think she would say
this?
2. Why do you think music is so good at sharing a message?
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