Isabel Vargas Lizano was born in San Joaquín de Flores, Costa Rica. She goes by Chavela, which is a nickname for Isabel. At only 14, she fled her native country due to lack of musical career opportunities, seeking refuge in Mexico, where an entertainment industry was burgeoning. 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 still dons in performances.
Her first album, Noche de Bohemia (Bohemian Night), was released in 1961 with the professional support of José Alfredo Jiménez, one of the foremost singer/songwriters of the Mexican cancion ranchera. Vargas has recorded over eighty albums thereafter. She was hugely successful during the 1950s, 1960s and the first half of the 70s, touring in Mexico, the United States, France and Spain and was close to many prominent artists and intellectuals of the time, including Juan Rulfo, Agustín Lara, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Dolores Olmedo and José Alfredo Jiménez. She partly retired in the late 1970s due to a 15 year-long battle with alcoholism, which she has described in her autobiography (Y si quieres saber de mi pasado [And if you want to know about my past], published in 2002) as "my 15 years in hell" At 81 years old, she publicly declared that she was a lesbian.
Vargas returned to the stage in 1991, performing at the venue "El Habito" in Coyoacan, Mexico City.She debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2003 at the age of 83 at the behest and promotion of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, a long-time admirer and personal friend of Vargas.
In April 2012 she released her latest album "Luna Grande" a tribute to Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
En el último trago
Chavela Vargas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y en el último trago nos vamos
Quiero ver a qué sabe tu olvido
Sin poner en mis ojos tus manos
Esta noche no voy a rogarte
Ésta noche te vas de a de veras
Qué difícil tener que dejarte
Sin que sienta que ya no me quieras
Nada me han enseñado los años
Siempre caigo en los mismos errores
Otra vez a brindar con extraños
Y a llorar por los mismos dolores
Tómate esta botella conmigo
Y en el último trago me besas
Esperamos que no haya testigos
Por si acaso te diera vergüenza
Si algún día sin querer tropezamos
No te agaches ni mi hables de frente
Simplemente la mano nos damos
Y después que murmure la gente
Tómate esta botella conmigo
Y en el último trago nos vamos
In Chavela Vargas's song "En El Último Trago," the singer is asking their loved one to drink a bottle of alcohol with them one last time before they part ways. They want to see how their loved one's forgetfulness tastes without them having to touch their eyes. They don't want to beg their beloved to stay with them, but rather, they want them to leave of their own accord. As they reflect on their life, they feel like they haven't learned anything from their mistakes and always end up crying with strangers who share their pain. They hope to kiss their loved one in the last sip, and they want to do it in a place where no one will see them because they fear their beloved will feel ashamed. Lastly, they hope that if they ever meet again after being apart, they can greet each other without embarrassment and without focusing on what others say about them.
Line by Line Meaning
Tómate esta botella conmigo
Let's drink this bottle together
Y en el último trago nos vamos
And when we take the last sip, we'll leave
Quiero ver a qué sabe tu olvido
I want to taste what forgetting you tastes like
Sin poner en mis ojos tus manos
Without having you touch me or look into my eyes
Esta noche no voy a rogarte
Tonight I won't beg you to stay
Ésta noche te vas de a de veras
Tonight you're really leaving
Qué difícil tener que dejarte
How difficult it is to have to leave you
Sin que sienta que ya no me quieras
Without feeling like you no longer love me
Nada me han enseñado los años
The years haven't taught me anything
Siempre caigo en los mismos errores
I always fall into the same mistakes
Otra vez a brindar con extraños
Once again, I toast with strangers
Y a llorar por los mismos dolores
And cry for the same pains
Tómate esta botella conmigo
Let's drink this bottle together
Y en el último trago me besas
And when we take the last sip, you'll kiss me
Esperamos que no haya testigos
We hope there are no witnesses
Por si acaso te diera vergüenza
Just in case you'd be embarrassed
Si algún día sin querer tropezamos
If one day we accidentally run into each other
No te agaches ni mi hables de frente
Don't look down or talk to me face to face
Simplemente la mano nos damos
Just let's shake hands
Y después que murmure la gente
And let people gossip about us
Tómate esta botella conmigo
Let's drink this bottle together
Y en el último trago nos vamos
And when we take the last sip, we'll leave
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jose Alfredo Jimenez Sandoval
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pierluigifilippocampione1055
Soy italiano y para escuchar Chavela en el 2003 me fui a Madrid.un dia. Cuando cantò esta cancion me puse a llorar como a un nino... cuenta una historia de mi vida.
@marcelocarrasco5378
Que una mujer de casi 90 años conservara la fuerza y el sentimiento intactos y le saliera por los poros como a ningún otro, eso es ARTE
@mirthamaldonado9391
Me pongo de pies.. Argentina soy y todo lo q venga México .. es hermoso.. saludos gente mexicana
@leovelazquez7435
Es cierto que chabela se sentía mexicana, pero ella nació en Colombia
@cosmefulanito2983
Lo que transmitía esta mujer en su manera de decir y en su forma de cantar. Imposible que no te llegue a las fibras mas profundas. En donde estes: Salud Chavela!!!!
@ivanalarconcesena89
Toda la razon
@user-bj7cs3nq7c
Porque estoy tan solo el amor no fue hecchompara i
@user-bj7cs3nq7c
Los gay tambien tenemos corazón
@austingt8615
A veces siento que hay un alma vieja dentro de mí, que disfruta de esta música. No tomo, no fumo y aún así siento el sentimiento de un borracho que llora y escucha su música. Viva la música de antes.
@caook7181
“Los mexicanos somos tan chingones, que nacemos donde nos dá la gana” . ¡Qué mujer tan excepcional!