On September 15, 2003 an adoring and sold-out Carnegie Hall audience gathered to pay tribute to a true legend and revolutionary, Chavela Vargas. The New York Times wrote, " the audience did not want to let her go, bringing her back for encore after encore." Everyone in attendance was aware of all the magic and history on that stage and in awe of how an eighty four year old woman making her Carnegie Hall debut wielded fearlessness and heartache to command the venue. Fearlessness is what brought her to the public's attention in Mexico in the late 50s when she dressed in men's clothing, smoked cigars, carried a gun and chased women in a time when this was unimaginable. She openly seduced women with Rancheras, Mexican folk songs of love and loss intended to be sung by men that became a force in her mouth.