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.
Soledad
Chavela Vargas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fue una noche sin estrellas
Cuando al irte me dejaste
Tanta pena
Y tanto mal.
Soledad
Desde el dia en que te fuiste
Convuentual.
Soledad,
Los arrollos están secos,
En las calles hay mil ecos que te
Gritan sin cesar
Soledad vuelve ya
Aquitar con tus canciones
Para siempre los crespones
Que ensombrecen mis horas
Soledad vuelve ya
Vuelve ya mi Soledad ...
The song "Soledad" by Chavela Vargas is a tribute to the pain and loneliness felt after a loved one leaves. The opening lines describe a night without stars, which is a metaphor for the darkness felt after the departure. The singer expresses the depth of the pain, hurt, and sorrow they feel, which have lingered on since their lover left.
The emotions in the song are further illustrated through the imagery of the dry waterways and echoes on the empty streets. The emptiness of the town is symbolic of the void left in the heart of the singer by their loved one's absence. The song's title "Soledad," meaning "solitude" in English, encapsulates the sense of loneliness that dominates the lyrics throughout.
The chorus of the song is a plea for the return of the loved one. The singer implores them to come back and remove the shroud of sadness that has cast shadows over their life. The singer asks for their partner's music to return because it brought them so much joy and happiness.
Overall, Chavela Vargas's "Soledad" is an emotional ballad that delves into the feelings of loneliness and heartache that one encounters after losing a loved one. Its poignant lyrics and passionate delivery have made it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Soledad
Loneliness
Fue una noche sin estrellas
It was a starless night
Cuando al irte me dejaste
When you left me
Tanta pena
So much pain
Y tanto mal.
And so much hurt
Desde el dia en que te fuiste
Since the day you left
En el pueblo solo existe un silencio
In the town, there is only silence
Convuentual.
Conventual
Los arrollos están secos,
The streams are dry
En las calles hay mil ecos que te
In the streets, there are a thousand echoes that
Gritan sin cesar
Shout incessantly
Soledad vuelve ya
Loneliness, come back now
Aquitar con tus canciones
Take away with your songs
Para siempre los crespones
Forever the mourning crepes
Que ensombrecen mis horas
That darken my hours
Vuelve ya mi Soledad ...
Come back now, my Loneliness
Contributed by Landon K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ritanunez9772
Soledad,
Fue una noche sin estrellas
Cuando al irte me dejaste
Tanta pena
Y tanto mal.
Soledad
Desde el dia en que te fuiste
En el pueblo solo existe un silencio
Convuentual.
Soledad,
Los arrollos están secos,
En las calles hay mil ecos que te
Gritan sin cesar
Soledad vuelve ya
Aquitar con tus canciones
Para siempre los crespones
Que ensombrecen mis horas
Soledad vuelve ya
Vuelve ya mi Soledad ...
@janeth8696
Soledad, fue una noche sin estrellas
cuando al irte me dejaste tanta pena
y tanto mal.
Soledad desde el día en que te fuiste
en el pueblo solo existe un silencio
conventual.Soledad, los arroyos están secos,
en las calles hay mil ecos
que te gritan sin cesar
Soledad vuelve ya
.... Vuelve ya mi Soledad ...
@thamaraviloriacedeno2
Guitarras que lloran....y una voz que desgarra el alma, y aún así la repites...sólo Dios hace este milagro, descansa en paz Chavela, que aquí nos dejaste ganas de seguir oyendo tus canciones , a mis hijas se las heredo...❤
@humbertoponce
Personas como Chavela debieran ser inmortales... Me hace llorar.
@user-nh6up4xw2x
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@mariajosemagallanes3280
Acabo de ver la biografía de chavela en Netflix y solo debo decir que quedé con el corazón hecho un nudo...besos al cielo hermosa chavela 😭
@academiadedanzasfolklorica5416
La acabo de ver y no pude evitar el llanto
@5ebastyanramirez87
Me paso igual... recién lo vi y me vine rápido a YouTube a seguir escuchandola. ... realmente un ser único 💕
@jakeline3972
Yo estoy leyendo un libro que hizo un escritor costarricense sobre la historia de ella . Una mujer de hierro sin duda
@lauraflores-zc6qt
Bella mi chavela cuanto sentimiento
@julioperez-eo8iw
Disculpa como se llama la biografía espero m ayudes porfavor
@usuariotemporal7524
Los mexicanos nacemos donde se nos da la chingada gana!
Saludos de parte de un mexicano nacido en Paraguay..