Argentines line streets, applauding in honor as hearse carries folk legend Mercedes Sosa away

Thousands bid farewell to Argentine singer Sosa

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentines bid farewell to folk singer and human rights activist Mercedes Sosa with flowers and cheers Monday as her body was taken from Congress to the capital’s Chacarita cemetery.

The ashes of the singer, who died Sunday at 74, will be scattered in Argentina’s capital as well as the provinces of Mendoza and her birthplace Tucuman in accordance with her wishes.

Argentina’s president accompanied Sosa’s family in paying homage to the singer as she lay in state at Congress. Singer Argentino Luna played her songs as weeping fans sang along and left flowers on her coffin.

Other celebrities sent their eulogies from afar — like Colombia’s Shakira, who sings on Sosa’s last, Grammy-nominated album. “We are all better for having known her — she showed us that a song can teach us so much,” Shakira said.

The leftist Sosa was forced into exile by Argentina’s military dictatorship of the 1970s but never backed down, lending her voice to inspire many who suffered. In the years since democracy returned to her country, she continued singing at political rallies and taking up causes even when they were unpopular.

“I could never afford to see her in concert, but I met her today and said goodbye,” said Dora Mabel Parra, one of many weeping fans.

A large crowd also gathered at the cemetery, crying, praying, singing and dancing — and vowing to keep her memory alive.