10 women who have shaped my life

The undisputed queen of indie pop has just released her fourth album — her first in Spanish — Universo por estrenar (Subterfuge).

1. Alice — character from Alice in Wonderland

I owe Alice a great deal of fantasy, many moments in which I escaped reality. In her I found inspiration and the urge to return more often to places that are hard to reach. Those are the moments that have given me my most incredible journeys and that keep the soul young.

2. Chavela Vargas — singer

Whenever I’ve said something that came straight from inside me and then regretted it because it wasn’t socially acceptable, I think of Chavela. She chose to be exactly who she was, with all the consequences, and to sing about it. She makes me feel there is nothing healthier than purity and transparency.

3. María Escalona — painter

She introduced me to the art of painting and taught me that there were many ways of thinking, and that the natural thing was to feel free rather than self-conscious. Although I was too young to fully understand it, everything she told me seemed to make perfect sense, with a very real and pure magic that I’ve always kept in mind.

4. Leslie Feist — musician, singer and songwriter

I’ve always needed music, but I didn’t feel capable of making it until I saw her perform: it was an inspiration, a new way of making music that depended on no one but myself.

5. Antonia Rodríguez — my mother

Along with my father and my siblings, she has taught me to be who I am. But above all it’s her: fighting on without ever losing her good humor or her kindness. And in difficult moments she has always been brave, which is the best thing anyone can teach you.

6. Sophie — character from Sophie’s World

From her I learned to keep my curiosity alive, to ask questions, to take nothing for granted… and to take the time needed to examine both outer and inner space.

7. Leonora Carrington — surrealist painter

And Maruja Mallo, Remedios Varo… who proved that women in art were not merely muses or lovers, that the ability to see beyond reality came with the person, not with their gender.

8. Emmy Noether — physicist

The best ideas arise from freedom and imagination. You need a mind free of prejudice to navigate unknown territory. Noether, with the theorem that bears her name, is a great inspiration to me.

9. Valentina Tereshkova — astronaut

She is proof that there are no limits, that anyone can be whatever they want to be. She turned other people’s mistrust into the energy she needed to complete her journey into space and keep following the path she loved.

10. Frida Kahlo — painter

When I discovered her story, I wasn’t going through a good time. It was a shot of energy: I felt accompanied and strong. Frida is a symbol of a free and brave woman in a world that seemed to be against her.

Source: Mujerhoy no. 1048, May 11, 2019.