Mercedes Sosa: Canta

Here's a (relatively) new one: an artist that's still alive! Born in 1935 of French and Quechuan descent, Mercedes Sosa is one of the most prominent artists to come of Argentina in the last century. Now this woman has been around the block. From leftist movements to dead husbands, Sosa has managed to survive the 20th century in South America while still releasing dozens of albums and performing throughout the Western Hemisphere. The album here, an LP released in 1974 as part of RCA's 'Serie Folklore Latino-Americano,' features a compilation of Sosa standards, several of which offer up accompaniment by V. Buchino y su Conjunto. While some of the tracks seem more standard, quite a few invoke an image similar to that of Judy Garland, with a soft but powerful sound, sassy piano and a 50's jive. Others carry just a glimmer of the 60's psychedelia scene with group backing-vocals and glam-y guitar. Mostly, I especially love the picture of Mercedes on the cover. She is clearly of Native descent, and the bleached tones, sweet outfit and her cute little guitar make this clearly an excellent album (in terms of world shopping, it is always better to judge an LP by its cover) . The LP is available at some locations online (~$15). If you're looking to download, I found an appropriately awesome blog with lots of Mercedes. And, if you feel that this rocks your boat in an especially sexy way, you just may also dig Chavela Vargas, a Costa-Rican lesbo powerhouse.

I deem it: "An epic chapter in the battle for more female superheroes."