![]() Vargas and Frida Kahloīelow is some rare early footage of Vargas performing her famous rendition of “Macorina,” a poem that she set to music of her own composition. She continued singing and recording up until her death in 2012, at age 93. With her famed trademark innuendo, the 74-year-old butch lesbian declared her never-ending commitment to music at a concert in Madrid, saying, “When you like something, you should do it all night long.” She officially came out in 2000, at age 81, and played Carnegie Hall three years later. Intense depression and alcoholism finally sent her into a long seclusion, but in 1991 she returned to the stage, happy, healthy and transformed. ![]() While Vargas’ career was fraught with ups and downs, she virtually disappeared for about 15 years starting in the late 70s. I urge you to listen to both versions back to back Vargas’ age and alcoholism seasoned her voice with a quality I can only describe as post-beautiful. ![]() Vargas even made an appearance in the 2002 Frida Kahlo biopic, singing a ghostly version of one of her signature songs, “” La Llorona,” (“The Weeping Woman”). I’ve never found absolute confirmation that they were lovers, but it’s largely accepted as fact by fans of both artists. (Given Vargas’ difficulties with alcoholism, this isn’t particularly difficult to believe.) It’s known that she was incredibly close to Frida Kahlo, even living with her and her husband, Diego Rivera, for a time. It’s said that Vargas walked with a limp due to an injury incurred while attempting to climb in the second story window of an ex-lover. Much of her life is shrouded in rumor and half-truths. The scandals cost her a lot of work, but Vargas had no interest in catering to anyone’s notion of respectability. While she had a rich sense of humor, one of her stylistic trademarks was slowing down cheeky tunes, transforming what were originally dirty little ditties into something intensely erotic. All of this was during a time when even wearing pants was scandalous behavior for a woman in Mexico. She would come to shows on motorcycles, smoke cigars onstage, imbibe heavily, and openly flirt with men’s wives during performances (many swear she took a few home with her). By the time she became popular in Mexico, she was as much known for her bombastic persona and unapologetic sexuality as she was for her powerful voice and intense performances. It wasn’t until her 30s that her career began to flourish, kick-started by a brief but successful visit to pre-Castro Cuba. On the more rare occasion that rancheras were performed by women, gender pronouns were obviously switched to keep everything tidily heterosexual. Rancheras are often mournful torch songs sung by drunken men alcohol provided a socially acceptable loophole for Mexican machismo to be shrugged aside for emotional and vulnerable performances. Though she covered quite a bit of ground stylistically, Vargas was mainly known for her rancheras- traditional Mexican music performed with a single voice and Spanish guitar. ![]() She carried a gun and embodied the machismo of her artistic idiom. For years she busked, wearing men’s clothing and smoking cigars. In the midst of an unstable childhood, she moved to Mexico at the tender ago of 14 to pursue a singing career in the burgeoning Mexican arts scene. ![]() There are some artists that convey such an intense pathos without the benefit of a common language, even attempting to write about them leaves one feeling a little hackneyed, but I’ll do my best.Ĭhavela Vargas was born Isabel Vargas Lizano in Costa Rica in 1919. There is also one other instance of the song in the movie, in the beginning of the film musicians sang the song briefly before Abuelita interupted them.An early photo of Vargas, focusing on her beautiful face, and cropping out whatever masculine clothes she might have been wearing at the time.Ī word of comfort to non-Spanish speakers: Mexican toddlers have a stronger command of the language than I do, but the first time I heard Chavela Vargas’ “ Paloma Negra,” I knew exactly what she was saying.The song is Imelda's favorite ballad, as she sang a snippet of it to Miguel to prove him wrong earlier at the other sides of the gate in an alley.There is also a 2019 movie, The Curse of La Llorona which is a horror film based on the folklore which it stars Linda Cardellini.The Weeping Woman), a female ghost of mourning in Latin American folklore. The song, in turn, shares its name with La Llorona (lit.The song is modified from the nineteenth-century Mexican folk song of the same name, although it was introduced to audiences in 19.I climbed the highest pine tree, Weeping Lady,Īs the pine tree was tender, Weeping Lady, And although it costs me my life, Weeping Lady, ![]()
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