Chavela Vargas, a Mexican singer, is a solitary figure. Without a band or any accompaniment, her voice alone, full of emotion, captivates the listener's soul. Her voice, which is usually somber, is accompanied by neither jewelry nor fancy outfits; she sang of the sorrow and despair of the downtrodden. Unlike those who say there is still hope, Chavela Vargas stands tall, singing even deeper despair, as if throwing a punch at the world.
In the film Frida, which portrays the life and art of Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, Chavela Vargas sings "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman), a song that is both fatal and overwhelming. Vargas, who joked that she drank so much tequila that Mexico no longer had any good liquor left, had a voice that was rough and harsh, showing the traces of years spent with alcohol. The smile that emerged from her deeply lined face, from which her songs flowed, was big enough to embrace the world. It would be an insult to shed tears in front of her songs. Although she was a lesbian, Chavela Vargas knew how to preserve pure love better than anyone else and proudly declared to the world:
"No one taught me to live this way. I was just born this way. I am absolutely pure. I have nothing to be ashamed of. My gods created me like this."
I wanted to dedicate this painting to Chavela Vargas.