In the 1960s, Chavela Vargas became an unlikely star in ranchera, a style of traditional Mexican music. Most ranchera singers had clear, polished voices and performed with a full band. But Vargas accompanied her raspy voice with just her guitar. Dressed in men’s trousers and a poncho, she would perform classic songs that had been written from a male point of view and were usually sung by men. She also altered those songs by performing them much more slowly than other ranchera singers did. The slower tempo allowed her to express the emotional quality of the lyrics more fully.