Gracias a la Vida
Encyclopedia
"Gracias a la vida" is the name of a song composed and first performed by Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an musician Violeta Parra
Violeta Parra
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...

, one of the artists who set the basis for the movement known as Nueva Canción
Nueva canción
Nueva canción is a movement and genre within Latin American and Iberian music of folk music, folk-inspired music and socially committed music...

. It was released in Las Últimas Composiciones (1966), the last album Parra published before committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in 1967.

The song is one of Parra's most renowned and is performed through the world, and remains as one of the most covered Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

n songs in history.

Legendary folk singer Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....

 brought the song to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 audiences in 1974 when she included a cover of the song on her Spanish language album of the same name. It remains a concert staple of Baez' to this day. A well-known cover by prominent Mercedes Sosa
Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...

 has been regarded as her "signature song".

Finnish singer Arja Saijonmaa
Arja Saijonmaa
Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress.She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University. She made her breakthrough as a singer in Sweden...

 recorded this song in both Finnish (Miten voin kyllin kiittää) and Swedish (Jag vill tacka livet). Her Swedish interpretation is one of the most well-known of her Swedish-language oeuvres.

Canadian singer/songwriter Nancy White
Nancy White
Nancy White is a Canadian singer-songwriter, whose topical songs were a regular feature on CBC Radio from 1976 to 1994 on the public affairs show Sunday Morning...

 recorded her English translation (with permission of Warner Chappell Music Argentina
(SADAIC))on her 1998 Borealis cd "Gaelic Envy".

One of the artists most associated with "Gracias a la vida" is the Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa
Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...

. "Gracias a la vida" became something of a personal anthem for Sosa and was a constant in all of her performances up until her death.

Cover versions

  • Mercedes Sosa
    Mercedes Sosa
    Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...

     on Homenaje a Violeta Parra (1971).
  • Joan Baez
    Joan Baez
    Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....

     on Gracias a la Vida (1974).
  • Joan Baez
    Joan Baez
    Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....

    Live at Festival des Vieilles Charrues, Carhaix, Bretagne, FRANCE, 2000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFZxBvUMlG0&NR=1
  • Gabriella Ferri
    Gabriella Ferri
    Gabriella Ferri was an Italian singer born in Rome.Ferri's career began in a Milan nightclub in 1963. By 1965, she had successfully broke onto the Rome singing scene by singing popular Roman songs. One of her biggest hits was "Sempre" . During her career, she also performed Neapolitan and Latin...

     on Remedios (1974).
  • Elis Regina
    Elis Regina
    Elis Regina Carvalho Costa, known simply as Elis Regina was an important singer of Brazilian popular music. She became nationally renowned in 1965, after singing Arrastão in the first edition of TV Excelsior festival song contest, and soon joined O Fino da Bossa, a television program on TV Record...

     on Falso Brilhante
    Falso Brilhante
    Falso Brilhante is the name of a 1976 studio album released by the critically acclaimed Brazilian MPB singer Elis Regina.On the year of 1975 Elis Regina opened her solo concert entitled Falso Brilhante, where she launched the career of a new composer, Antonio Carlos Belchior,...

     (1976).
  • Richard Clayderman
    Richard Clayderman
    Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...

     on América Latina…Mon Amour (1992).
  • Yasmin Levy
    Yasmin Levy
    Yasmin Levy , born on December 23, 1975 in Jerusalem, is an Israeli singer-songwriter of Judaeo-Spanish music.-Career:Her late father, Isaac Levy, was a composer and cantor, pioneer researcher into the long and rich history of the Ladino music and culture of Spanish Jewry and its diaspora, being...

     on La Judería - Ladino meets Flamenco (2005).
  • Verónica Garay Opaso on "Así"' (2007).
  • Pasión Vega on "Gracias a la vida"' (2009).
  • Issac Delgado
    Issac Delgado
    This article is about the musician; for the New Orleans philanthropist with a similar name, see Isaac DelgadoIssac Delgado is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular salsa and timba performer.-Early life and family:His father, Luis Delgado, was a tailor and his mother,...

     on La Formula (2000).
  • Alberto Cortez
    Alberto Cortez
    Alberto Cortez is an Argentine singer and songwriter. Cortez and his wife live in Madrid.Cortez was born in Rancul, La Pampa Province, Argentina, March 13, 1938. At the age of six entered in the elementary school and at the same time to the conservatory Alberto Williams. He begins to compose songs...

     on Leyendas: Alberto Cortez (2005).
  • Michael Bublé
    Michael Bublé
    Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...

     on Gracias a la Vida: Voces Unidas por Chile (2010) to gather funds for the Chilean people affected by the earthquake in Chile, February 2010. http://www.vocesunidasporchile.com/
  • Margareth Menezes
    Margareth Menezes
    Margareth Menezes is a Brazilian singer from Salvador, Bahia.Her style is considered axé but her music also steers into samba and MPB territory, at times drawing on African rhythms and reggae....

     on Naturalmente Acústico (2010).
  • Erwin Schrott
    Erwin Schrott
    Erwin Schrott is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni.-Career:...

     on Rojotango (2011).
  • Cecilia
    Cecilia Pantoja
    Cecilia Pantoja Levi , better known simply as Cecilia, is a Chilean singer songwriter, member of the nueva ola music movement.-References :...

     en Gracias a la vida (1970).
  • Isabel Parra
    Isabel Parra
    Isabel Parra is a famous Chilean singer-songwriter and interpreter of Latin American musical folklore.Isabel Parra was born in Chile in 1939 and began her career in music at the age of 13 when she made her first recording with her world-renowned mother, the folklorist Violeta Parra...

     en Los Parra de Chile (1970).
  • Chagual en Tu canto Viola doliente (1970).
  • Mercedes Sosa
    Mercedes Sosa
    Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...

     en Homenaje a Violeta Parra (1971).
  • Alberto Cortez
    Alberto Cortez
    Alberto Cortez is an Argentine singer and songwriter. Cortez and his wife live in Madrid.Cortez was born in Rancul, La Pampa Province, Argentina, March 13, 1938. At the age of six entered in the elementary school and at the same time to the conservatory Alberto Williams. He begins to compose songs...

     Ni poco... ni demasiado (1973).
  • Raphael en Recital hispanoamericano (1975).
  • Elis Regina
    Elis Regina
    Elis Regina Carvalho Costa, known simply as Elis Regina was an important singer of Brazilian popular music. She became nationally renowned in 1965, after singing Arrastão in the first edition of TV Excelsior festival song contest, and soon joined O Fino da Bossa, a television program on TV Record...

     en Falso Brilhante
    Falso Brilhante
    Falso Brilhante is the name of a 1976 studio album released by the critically acclaimed Brazilian MPB singer Elis Regina.On the year of 1975 Elis Regina opened her solo concert entitled Falso Brilhante, where she launched the career of a new composer, Antonio Carlos Belchior,...

     (1976).
  • Sonia la Única en Sonia canta a Violeta Parra (1980).
  • Richard Clayderman
    Richard Clayderman
    Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...

     en América Latina… mon amour (1992).
  • Nana Mouskouri
    Nana Mouskouri
    Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...

     en Nana Latina (1996).
  • Luis Jara
    Luis Jara (singer)
    Luis Alberto Jara Cantillana is a Chilean singer, actor and TV host.- Soap operas :- Studio albums :* 1986: Ámame* 1988: Otra vez de cero* 1990: Inevitable* 1992: Un golpe de suerte...

     en Lo Nuestro... ayer y hoy (1999).
  • Los Bunkers
    Los Bunkers
    Los Bunkers is an alternative rock from Concepción, Chile, formed in 1999 by brothers Álvaro and Gonzalo López, Mauricio Basualto, and brothers Francisco and Mauricio Durán....

     en Después de vivir un siglo (2001).
  • Plácido Domingo
    Plácido Domingo
    Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...

     en Canciones de amor (2003) y De mi alma latina (1994)
  • Yasmin Levy
    Yasmin Levy
    Yasmin Levy , born on December 23, 1975 in Jerusalem, is an Israeli singer-songwriter of Judaeo-Spanish music.-Career:Her late father, Isaac Levy, was a composer and cantor, pioneer researcher into the long and rich history of the Ladino music and culture of Spanish Jewry and its diaspora, being...

     en La Judería - Ladino meets flamenco (2005).
  • La Oreja de Van Gogh
    La Oreja de Van Gogh
    La Oreja de Van Gogh is a Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated Spanish pop band from Donostia-San Sebastian. The name of the band refers to the famous post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh who cut off the lobe of his own ear...

     en "Festival de Viña del Mar" (2005)
  • Verónica Garay Opaso en Así (2007).
  • Amaury Pérez y Frank Fernández en Los dúos (2006).
  • Gloria Simonetti en 40 años de gloria (2007)
  • Ángel Parra
    Ángel Parra
    Ángel Cereceda Parra is a Chilean singer and songwriter, son of Violeta Parra, notable Chilean folklorist and brother of Isabel Parra. He travels abroad helping to maintain the Nueva Canción tradition in Chilean expatriate communities in Europe, North America, and Australia. His son -also named...

     en Violeta se fue a los cielos (2007).
  • Los Tres
    Los Tres
    Los Tres is a Chilean rock band composed of four members: a rock/folk singer and three jazzmen. It was one of the noted bands in the Chilean nineties, together with La Ley and Lucybell....

     en Cantores que reflexionan: sintiendo a Violeta" (2007).
  • Jorge González en Cantores que reflexionan: sintiendo a Violeta (2007).
  • Pasión Vega en Gracias a la vida (2009).
  • Rosario Flores
    Rosario Flores
    Rosario Flores is a two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Spanish gypsy singer and actress.She was born in Madrid, Spain as the daughter of Antonio González and Lola Flores. She is the sister of actress Lolita Flores and singer-songwriter Antonio Flores. She has a daughter with her ex boyfriend...

     en Cuéntame (2009).
  • Laura Pausini
    Laura Pausini
    Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...

     en vivo en varios conciertos.
  • Óscar Chávez
    Óscar Chávez
    Óscar Chávez is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. He was the main exponent of the Nueva Trova in Mexico in the sixties and seventies. He studied theatre at the UNAM and has produced and acted in several plays and movies and telenovelas in Mexico...

     en 16 exitos de oro.
  • Nicole Natalino
    Nicole Natalino
    Nicole Monserrat Natalino Torres is a Chilean singer and modelmade famous from was member former from the band Kudai, she left the band on 2006, and on 2008 she's comeback to her solo music career.-Early life:...

    's performanace was implicated in controversy.http://es.wikipedia.com/Gracias_a_la_vida

External links

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