Chavela Vargas - Paloma Negra (Black Dove)
Isabel Vargas Lizano, better known as Chavela Vargas was born in Costa Rica in 1919 but immigrated to Mexico in 1933 at the age of 14. Known for singing traditional Ranchero music, Chavela has recorded over eighty albums and toured heavily in the US, Mexico, France and Spain. A huge success during the 1950s-mid1970s, Chavela was also closely tied to the intellectuals and artists of the time including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
Once dubbed “la voz aspera de la ternura” - the rouge voice of tenderness, I quickly learned that this nickname was no not to be taken lightly. Paloma Negra was the song that first introduced me to this musical legend. I watched Chavela perform the song on television and was immediately moved by the pain in her voice. She is talking about being in love, yet knowing that she needs to release the toxicity from her life.
This song isn’t sung neatly or daintily. There is something so raw and pained…almost like a wounded animal that I think anyone can appreciate even if they don’t understand the language. It’s one of those rare artistic gems that you feel in your soul.
Also interesting to note, for those of you who might be confused if she is referring to a man or a woman in the song, Chavela is definitely singing to a woman in this song. As a young woman, she frequently dressed like a man, smoke/drank heavily, carried a gun, and was known for rocking her red poncho. She came out as a lesbian at the ripe young age of 81.
If you like this, a great introduction to traditional Mexican music by an assortment of artists is the Frida soundtrack. This track is on there along with another Chavela classic, La Llorna (The Weeping Woman). Lyrics are below in both English and Spanish.
- calidre
Paloma Negra
Ya me canso de llorar y no amanece
Ya no sé si maldecirte o por ti rezar
Tengo miedo de buscarte y de encontrarte
Donde me aseguran mis amigos que te vas
Hay momentos en que quisiera mejor rajarme
Y arrancarme ya los clavos de mi penar
Pero mis ojos se mueren si mirar tus ojos
Y mi cariño con la aurora te vuelve a esperar
Y aggaraste por tu cuenta la parranda
Paloma negra paloma negra dónde, dónde andarás?
Ya no jueges con mi honra parrandera
Si tus caricias han de ser mías, de nadie mas
Y aunque te amo con locura ya no vuelves
Paloma negra eres la reja de un penar
Quiero ser libre vivir mi vida con quien yo quiera
Dios dame fuerza que me estoy muriendo por irla a buscar
Black Dove
I’m tired of weeping and yet there’s no sign of the sun
I no longer know whether to curse you or pray for you
I’m afraid to look for you and afraid to find you
Where my friends have told me that you’ve gone
At times I feel like relinquishing the fight
And ripping out the nails that cause my pain
But my eyes are dying without looking into yours
And my affection returns to wait for you at dawn
And you decided on your own to find a party
Black dove, black dove where are you?
Stop playing with my honour, party girl
If your caresses are going to be mine, and no one else’s
And even though I love you madly, don’t come back to me
Black dove, you’re the bars on this cage of suffering
I want to be free, to live my life with whom I choose
Lord, give me strength for I’m dying to go find her
