	Home Vargas Chavela 1919 - 2012 (93) QUOTES
	Chavela Vargas (1919 - 2012) was a Costa Rican singer best known for her performance on the Mexican rancheras, as well as for her contributions to other Latin American music genres. She was born on April 17, 1919 in San Joaquín de Flores, Costa Rica, and had a difficult childhood as her parents divorced and left her in the care of an uncle, among others she contracted polio. At the age of 17 she left her hometown and sought her fortune in Mexico where she lived most of her life and also acquired Mexican citizenship. In her youth she dressed like men, smoked cigars, drank a lot, held a gun and was known for her characteristic red hat, which she wore in performances until old age. For many years she was a street singer, but in her thirties she became a professional singer. Towards the end of the 1950s, she became known in art circles, in part because of her appearances in Acapulco, a center of international tourism. Her first album was released in 1961 with the professional support of José Alfredo Jiménez, one of the leading singers of Mexican ranchera music. He eventually recorded more than 80 albums and was hugely successful in the 1950s, 1960s and first half of the 1970s, touring Mexico, the United States, France and Spain. Vargas withdrew from the shows due to a 15-year battle with alcoholism, which she described in her autobiography as "my 15 years in hell." on stage in 1991, playing in a bohemian nightclub in Mexico City.Her career began to gain international acclaim, with performances in Latin America, Europe and the United States. She debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2003 at the age of 83 years old after the promotion of the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. Chavela Vargas died in a Mexican hospital on August 5, 2012, after weeks of hospitalization due to respiratory problems.

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Vargas Chavela 1919 - 2012 (93)

QUOTES

Chavela Vargas (1919 - 2012) was a Costa Rican singer best known for her performance on the Mexican rancheras, as well as for her contributions to other Latin American music genres.

She was born on April 17, 1919 in San Joaquín de Flores, Costa Rica, and had a difficult childhood as her parents divorced and left her in the care of an uncle, among others she contracted polio. At the age of 17 she left her hometown and sought her fortune in Mexico where she lived most of her life and also acquired Mexican citizenship.

In her youth she dressed like men, smoked cigars, drank a lot, held a gun and was known for her characteristic red hat, which she wore in performances until old age. For many years she was a street singer, but in her thirties she became a professional singer. Towards the end of the 1950s, she became known in art circles, in part because of her appearances in Acapulco, a center of international tourism. Her first album was released in 1961 with the professional support of José Alfredo Jiménez, one of the leading singers of Mexican ranchera music. He eventually recorded more than 80 albums and was hugely successful in the 1950s, 1960s and first half of the 1970s, touring Mexico, the United States, France and Spain.

Vargas withdrew from the shows due to a 15-year battle with alcoholism, which she described in her autobiography as "my 15 years in hell." on stage in 1991, playing in a bohemian nightclub in Mexico City.Her career began to gain international acclaim, with performances in Latin America, Europe and the United States. She debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2003 at the age of 83 years old after the promotion of the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar.

Chavela Vargas died in a Mexican hospital on August 5, 2012, after weeks of hospitalization due to respiratory problems.