Tango singer Beatriz Adriana Lichinchi, better known as Adriana Varela, was born May 9, 1952, in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since her artistic career began, Adriana Varela has taken the music of Argentina to the most important international tango festivals.
In 1990, she made her debut at Buenos Aires’s Café Homero. She appeared singing in Flop (1990, directed by Eduardo Mignogna).
Her first album, titled Tangos, was released in 1991. It won the ACE Award, despite the fact that it was only available on cassette.
In 1994, she released Corazones perversos, with Uruguayan legends Jaime Roos and Hugo Fattoruso as musical guests. The album was presented at a packed Teatro San Martín
1996 was a busy year. Adriana Varela appeared in Al corazón (directed by Mario Sábato). She performed with Jaime Roos at the Bosques de Palermo in Buenos Aires before a crowd of 50,000. That same year she released Tangos de lengue, working closely with tango legend Enrique Cadícamo. ”The most difficult thing I did in my life. Goyeneche was supposed to do it, but he was in no shape. Cadícamo said, ‘Then it’s Adriana Varela’. It’s a beautiful album, but I don’t listen to it very often because it reminds me of how hard it was.”
In 1997, she released Tango en vivo, a live show recorded at Teatro Coliseo. It’s her best-selling album to date. She was invited to Porto Alegre, to perform at Brazil’s Theatre Festival, where she performed for three consecutive nights.
Adriana Varela made her Uruguayan debut at Cine Plaza in 1998. That same year, she performed at Barcelona’s GREC Festival and got a standing ovation. Her voice opened the film Tango, by director Carlos Saura.
In 1999, she was invited by Quincy Jones, representing Argentina at the Concert for the Americas, sharing the stage with Paul Anka, Celia Cruz, Kenny G, Rita Marley, Liza Minnelli, Arturo Sandoval, and under the direction of Lalo Schifrin. She released Cuando el río suena, a collection of tangos, murgas, candombes, and folk songs, produced by Jaime Roos. It went platinum in Uruguay.
In 2000, she performed in Rome, London, and Paris. She also appeared in Plata Quemada (a movie by Marcelo Piñeyro).
The following year, she collaborated with Bajofondo Tango Club in Buenos Aires. “Bajofondo was a fresh breeze, and the mix of tango and electronica an absolutely natural thing to do. It was incredible, spontaneous, and cool.”
The video of ”Perfume,” the song she recorded for the album, was nominated at the MTV Latin America Video Music Awards. In 2001, she also released Más tango, her first studio tango album since 1996.
Adriana Varela participated as a guest in Joaquin Sabina’s recordings. Sabina is a popular Spanish singer-songwriter.
Notably, Adriana is one of the main characters in the movie Tango by Carlos Saura.
Adriana Varela is possibly the most representative female tango artists worldwide.
Discography:
Tangos (1991)
Maquillaje (Melopea Disco, 1993)
Corazones perversos (Melopea Disco, 1994)
Tangos del lengue (Melopea Disco, 1995)
Cuando el río suena (1999)
Más tango (2001)
Encaje (2006)
Tango en vivo (Acqua Records, 2007)
Docke (2009)
Adriana Varela y piano (2014)
http://www.adrianavarelatango.com
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Updated biography, discography and video.