Chavela Vargas, the Costa Rican singer who recorded 80 albums during a long and illustrious career, has died at the age of 93. She passed at a hospital in Mexico where she had been admitted for heart and respiratory problems, Maria Cortina her friend and biographer said.
Isabel Vargas Lizano was born April 17, 1919, in the town of San Joaquin de Flores in Costa Rica, relocating to Mexico in the 1930s, where she eventually decided on singing as a career.
She made a name for herself with her sparse, edgy musical style and penchant for dressing in men's clothing. She cultivated a relationship with Frida Kahlo, which spurred rumors of a sexual relationship between the pair. In 2007, she was awarded a Grammy for a career of musical excellence.
"I don't think there is a stage big enough in this world for Chavela," wrote the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, who featured her music in many of his films.
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