Chavela Vargas

There was a key moment in her return to the stage around 1991, which brought her back with force. The Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar was instrumental in this, by including her songs in films like High Heels. Thanks to this support, she was able to perform in iconic venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1994, where the French actress Jeanne Moreau, who did not understand Spanish, felt the depth of her singing. That same year, Chavela also performed in Costa Rica, at the Teatro Nacional de San José and at the University of Costa Rica, reconnecting with her roots and captivating audiences with songs like Macorina and La Llorona.

Her presence in cinema was not limited to music. She appeared in Scream of Stone by Werner Herzog in 1991, and later in Frida by Julie Taymor in 2002, where she performed Paloma Negra. She also lent her voice to Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu in 2006, singing the bolero You Have Made Me Used to You by Frank Domínguez. In 2003, at the age of 83, she had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall. In her later years, she divided her life between Mexico, where she was beloved in intellectual and artistic circles, and Costa Rica. Her last public appearance was in Madrid in July 2012, presenting her final album, a recital that marked the end of her journey on stage.