Tranquila. Celeste Canta Chavela

A spin off from Tranquila, a show produced for Barcelona's Kursaal celebrating the life of Chavela Vargas, this release also marks the tenth anniversary of the great Mexican singer's passing. An LGBTQ+ icon, Vargas was not known for her ‘tranquilidad’ so perhaps the title is purposefully ironical, or is it that we listeners are spiritually calmed by the diva's unfettered vicarious displays of passion and pain?

Celeste Alías captures Vargas’ characteristic manner of suggesting both defiance and acute distress, and she is ably supported by guitarist Santi Careta and drummer Oriol Roca – two musicians who collaborated on another album of homage with Alías, Celeste Canta Antonio Machín, seven years ago – as well as ‘sonologist’ Adrià Serrano. The quartet stay faithful to the tenor of the original material but theatricalise it to good effect – using percussion and changes of tempo and texture to move forward the story of Vargas's life. Classics including ‘Volver, Volver’, ‘El Último Trago’ and ‘La Enorme Distancia’ all feature. The use of old-school mics and 60s tape technology rekindles the vitality of the ranchera sound of the period. A celebration of freedom, love and life, and a musical feast for the dead, Tranquila is a well-crafted tribute.