The musical trio of Ely Guerra, Eugenia Leon and Tania Libertad will honor the life of Costa Rican born singer Chavela Vargas on Nov. 27 at Carnegie Hall as part of the "Voices From Latin America," festival.
The trio will be celebrating the life of the late Chavela Vargas with a cluster of performances.
Isabel "Chavela" Vargas was born in Costa Rica in 1917 and arrived in Mexico as an adolescent, working as a chauffeur and a street singer. Friends with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in the 1940s, she earned an important place in the vibrant music scene of 1950s Mexico City.
For many, Chavela was known as the greatest classic rancheras artist .Chavela performed for some of the most famous people. She sung at Elizabeth Taylor's wedding and was seen in the company of Ava Gardener and Rock Hudson.
Chavela's time at the top ended when she decided to retire in 1976 but returned to the stage in 1991 touring Europe with a memorable performance in Paris and at age 83 she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2003.
Over the years Vargas stacked up numerous awards for her work the most notable was the "Gran Cruz Isabel la Catolica," a price she received in 2000 from the then president of Spain. She has taken home the Latin Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 and in 2009 she was proclaimed a Distinguished Citizen of Mexico City.
Chavela has done few films in her day and has more than 80 albums to her name. Chavela Vargas passed away in Mexico on Aug. 5, 2012.
The three ladies honoring Vargas are also great musicians in their own right. Eugenia Leon a folk singer has more than 25 recordings and a repertoire that ranges from contemporary composers to traditional Mexican and Latin American music. Earlier this year, Ms. León performed "La Llorona," a song made famous by Chavela Vargas, in front of the great singer herself.
Ely Guerra is one of the key artists in contemporary Mexican music, releasing six recordings in 19 years, and touring throughout Mexico, Latin America, and around the world, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, England, and Spain. In 2010, she received the Latin Grammy Award in the Best Alternative Music Album category for "Hombre invisible."
Tania Libertad is considered one of the greatest singers in Latin America today. She began singing romantic boleros at the age of five, building a repertoire of more than 300 boleros by the time she was 16. In her career Libertad has made more than 36 recordings that have sold over two million copies combined.
Eugenia Leon sings to Chavela Vargas "La Llorna,"
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