It's kind of a difficult thing to say, but this is my favorite Mercedes Sosa album, although it does not contain one of my favorite Mercedes Sosa songs, which I mentioned in the last post. Still, the energy and delivery she put into these songs in my opinion makes this album superior to studio renditions. Particularly, Alfonsina y El Mar, a beautiful sad song about the suicide of Alfonsina Storni, is superbly accompanied by the great Argentinian pianist Ariel Ramírez (co-author of the song), and Cuando Ya Me Empiece a Quedar Solo, with also Argentinian rock star Charly García.
When you delve into the world of Latin American folk, which I think is more akin to Bob Dylan and Nick Drake than to Mariachi or Salsa, you delve into a world of tragedy, entitlement, melancholy and sometimes resentment against a perceived political oppressor, but also a world of uplifting heroicism, excellent musicianship, lyricism, reflectiveness and accomplished versification.
