Chavela Vargas
| Chavela Vargas | |
|---|---|
Chavela Vargas in the 1930s.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Isabel Vargas Lizano |
| Born |
17 April 1919 San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia Province, Costa Rica |
| Origin | Mexico |
| Died | 5 August 2012 (aged 93) Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico |
| Genres | Ranchera |
| Occupation(s) | Singer–songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 1961– 2012 |
| Associated acts | José Alfredo Jiménez |
| Website | www.chavelavargasofficial.com |
Isabel Vargas Lizano (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃaˈβela ˈβarɣas]; 17 April 1919 – 5 August 2012), better known as Chavela Vargas, was a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She was especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras, but she is also recognized for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music. She has been an influential interpreter in the Americas and Europe, muse to figures such as Pedro Almodóvar, hailed for her haunting performances, and called "la voz áspera de la ternura", the rough voice of tenderness. The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, presented her with a Latin GRAMMY Statuette in 2007 after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of that organization.
Although the name Chavela Vargas is associated with Mexico and its culture, she was born in Costa Rica, in Jouaquin de las flores, as Isabel Vargas Lizano, daughter of Francisco Vargas and Herminia Lizano. She was baptized on 15 July 1919 with the forenames "María Isabel Anita Carmen de Jesús." She had a difficult childhood: her parents divorced and left her under the care of an uncle, and she contracted poliomyelitis. She went by Chavela, which is a pet name for Isabel. At age 14, she abandoned her native country due to lack of opportunities for a musical career, seeking refuge in Mexico, where an entertainment industry was burgeoning. There she resided for almost eight decades and obtained Mexican nationality.
For many years she sang on the streets, but in her thirties she became a professional singer. In her youth, she dressed as a man, smoked cigars, drank heavily, carried a gun, and was known for her characteristic red jorongo, which she donned in performances until old. Vargas sang the canción ranchera, which she performed in her own peculiar style. The typical ranchera, as represented by José Alfredo Jiménez, was a masculine but emotional song about love and its mishaps, usually mediated by alcohol, since in a macho culture, the display of feelings by men is allowed only to the drunk. The ranchera is sung from a man's perspective and with a mariachi accompaniment. Chavela sang this type of song as a solo, using only guitar and voice, evoking the singing style of a drunk man. She often slowed down the tempo of melodies to draw more dramatic tension out of songs, so they could be taken as naughtily humorous.
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