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.
Hace un Año
Chavela Vargas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
que yo tuve una ilusión
hace un año,
que hoy se cumple en éste día
me recuerdo
que en tus brazos
me dormía.
Y qué inocente,
te entregué
mi corazón.
Ese tiempo
tan feliz no volverá,
me quisiera emborrachar
de sentimiento.
Te quisiera yo borrar
del pensamiento,
Pero es inútil
pues borracha más y más
me he de acordar.
Pero el tiempo es justiciero
y vengador
y a pesar
de tu hermosura placentera,
hoy te sobran
muchos hombres que te queran,
veras mañana no habrá
nadie que se
acuerde de tu amor.
The song Hace un año, popularized by the Mexican Costa Rican singer Chavela Vargas, tells the story of a love that ended a year ago. The singer remembers how, a year ago, she had a great illusion that now culminates on the anniversary of their relationship. She remembers how she used to fall asleep in his arms, how she was innocent and trusted him completely, and how she gave him her heart. However, she acknowledges that that happy time will never come back, and she wishes to drown herself in sentimentality. She also wishes to erase him from her thoughts, but she knows it is useless, and the more she drinks, the more she will remember him.
The song suggests the passage of time as a great equalizer, as it slowly takes away the pain and resentment of lost love. The singer understands that the man she loved, who she saw as the epitome of pleasure and beauty, is now just like any other guy, and many women are happy to have him. She predicts that tomorrow, no one will remember the love they shared. Overall, the song speaks to those who have experienced the pain of losing someone they loved, and how with time, the pain subsides, and they can move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Contributed by Kennedy B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marthavargas5633
Esto se llama saber cantar! Excelente Chabela Vargas!👍
@elizabethvalenzuela1506
Que recuerdo!!! mi padre recostado cantando esta canción y yo jugando a su lado.
Ya no estas padre pero en mi corazón guardo estos momentos.
@user-jw9ye6yt9j
Esa voz tan linda sensual pausadita y sentimental de chavela vargas que delicia oirla y verla que bendicion gracias
@rocamultimedia
La Chavela es la Chavela, y siempre seguirá siendo la Chavela, siempre seguiré escuchando estas canciones con un buen tequila "o varios tequilas jejeje". Mis respetos a Chavela Vargas.
@alejandromagno3730
Esta maravillosa mujer con esa inigualable voz ha sabido llegar hasta lo más profundo de mi alma ... Ahí, Ahí donde estás tu tú Amor de mi vida.
@isacoprolito1611
Kniñk l y
, Hoy yo
@selenewab6983
Hoy te sobran muchos hombres que te quieran.
Verás mañana no habrá nadie que se acuerde de tu amor 🥺💗
@aquahorse9
Leyendo los demas comentarios ya me estaba poniendo triste. Pero el tuyo me ha echo reir. Con estas canciones y acompañada de su voz me convertia en masoquista inofensiva en lugar de deprimida suicida. Viva Chavela y sino fuera a trabajar mañana me bajaba un a botella de tequila. Miento, solo la mitad no resisto mucho, y no quiero arrepentirme despues...
@orbelinbarrios3484
tomandome un tequila a la orilla del mar y oyendo esta cancion, no tiene madre la vida, que vengan las otras, chingada madre, me quisiera emborracharme de sentimeiento, te quisiera yo borrar del pensamiento pero es inutil pues borracho mas y mas me he de acordar...
@CrissJaur3gui
Awww