About This Song
About "Angelitos negros" by Chavela Vargas
A plea for the dark-skinned angels to carry a message to heaven, Vargas's voice cracks open the sky. The song's gentle bolero rhythm belies its radical grief. She sings of a child's painting and a world's indifference, her tone shifting from tenderness to indictment. The sacred and the profane meet in a lament that refuses to be comforted.
