Synopsis
A look at the unconventional life of beloved performer Chavela Vargas, whose passionate renditions of Mexican popular music and triumphant return to the stage late in life brought her international fame. Born in Costa Rica in 1919, Chavela Vargas ran away to Mexico City as a teenager to sing in the streets. By the 1950s, she became a household name in her adopted country, delivering her performances with a raw passion and unique voice. Just as influential were her cultural contributions; Chavela was a bold, rebellious, sexual pioneer who was known for having many female lovers at a time when being out in Mexico was dangerous. Chavela centers around a 1991 interview—the singer’s first public appearance after 15 hard years lost to alcoholism and heartbreak. In the final years of her life, Chavela openly comes out as a lesbian and rises into her momentous third act, becoming a muse to filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, earning a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and selling out performances at prestigious concert halls around the world.
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Movie Details
Argentina Releases: | June 8th, 2018 (Wide) |
Video Release: | January 2nd, 2018 by Music Box Films Video |
MPAA Rating: | Not Rated |
Running Time: | 93 minutes |
Keywords: | 1990s, Biography, Artists, Singers |
Source: | Based on Real Life Events |
Genre: | Documentary |
Production Method: | Live Action |
Creative Type: | Factual |
Production/Financing Companies: | Aubin Pictures, National Endowment for the Arts, Centro Costarricense de Produccion, Cinematografica del Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud, IFP, Women in Film Film Finishing Fund, The Arch and Bruce Foundation, Frameline Completion Fund, Mexican Cultural Institute New York |
Production Countries: | Mexico, Spain, United States |
Languages: | English, Spanish |