The voice of the voiceless ones-- Mercedes Sosa

星期天去聽流浪之歌音樂節的時候，以色列歌手Esti Kenan Ofri在台上說某位（我聽不清楚）阿根廷音樂家在三個小時前過世了，希望大家為她默哀。看了新聞，才知道原來是我很愛的人權歌手Mercedes Sosa（7/9/1935 – 10/4/2009）因病於布宜諾斯艾利斯與世長辭。

我一直是南美洲音樂的愛好者。在美國的幾年中，努力尋找和收藏那充滿生命力和節奏感的聲音。因緣際會下，買到一張Mercedes Sosa的精選集。雖聽不懂西班牙文，但她那發自靈魂深處的歌聲，深深虜獲了我的心。以下的這兩首歌，就是廣受大眾喜愛的歌曲。

Sólo Le Pido A Dios (All I ask of God)

All I ask of God
That pain does not leave me indifferent,
And that parched death will not find me
Alone and empty not having done sufficient.

All I ask of God
That I am not indifferent to injustice
That they won’t slap my other cheek,
After their talon has scraped away my luck.

All I ask of God
That I am not indifferent to war,
It’s a big monster which crushes
All the poor innocence of the people.

All I ask of God
That I am not indifferent to deceit,
If a traitor can do more than the masses,
Then let not the masses forget him easily.

All I ask of God
That I am not indifferent to the future,
Hopeless is he who has to go away
To live a different culture.

All I ask of God
That I am not indifferent to war,
It’s a big monster that crushes
All the poor innocence of people.


Gracias A La Vida (Thanks to the life)

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two beams of light, that when opened,
Can perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the sky above, her starry backdrop,
And from within the multitude
The one that I love.

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me an ear that, in all of its width
Records—night and day—crickets and canaries,
Hammers and turbines and bricks and storms,
And the tender voice of my beloved.

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me sounds and the alphabet.
With them the words that I think and declare:
“Mother,” “Friend,” “Brother” and the light shining.
The route of the soul from which comes love.

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me the ability to walk with my tired feet.
With them I have traversed cities and puddles
Valleys and deserts, mountains and plains
And your house, your street and your patio.

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me a heart, that causes my frame to shudder.
When I see the fruit of the human brain,
When I see good so far from bad,
When I see within the clarity of your eyes…

Thanks to the life, which has given me so much.
It gave me laughter and it gave me longing.
With them I distinguish happiness and pain—
The two materials from which my songs are formed,
And your song, as well, which is the same song.
And everyone’s song, which is my very song.

與我很愛的智利音樂團體Inti-Illimani一樣，Mercedes Sosa也在70年代的阿根廷開始唱起屬於自己土地和人民的歌，而不見容於當時的軍政府。歌被禁，人也被迫流亡歐洲。直到軍政府垮台後，才得以回到故鄉。她以渾厚自然的嗓音，唱出對不公不義世界的控訴，卻又充滿對生命的渴望。因此，Mercedes Sosa被譽為無聲人民的代言者。她的逝世，真是音樂界和人權界一大損失。她的聲音，將永遠為世人所懷念。

看看台灣的演藝圈，號稱為了事業、假言論自由之名而抱中國大腿的人不斷湧現。我們的Mercedes Sosa，又在何方呢？

藝文手札上一篇“午後的出走—2009流浪之歌音樂節“