Kate Vargas Revisits Her Childhood On Glowing New Single “Glorieta To The Holy Place” From New LP
Sharing a third single from her newly released album, Rumpumpo, New-York based Kate Vargas invites listeners into the experience of her own childhood pilgrimage through “Glorieta to the Holy Place.” Centring on a popular pilgrimage to the church of El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico, the latest single showcases Vargas’ unique, crooning vocals and highlights her skill in transporting listeners into a story through her music.
Having experienced a similar pilgrimage with her father as a child, Vargas has reimagined the narrative as an adult, taking into account the effects of the pandemic on the experience. El Santuario de Chimayo – which sees thousands trek upwards of 30 miles to reach it annually on Good Friday – is said to have healing powers, particularly the sand found inside the church. The very real church is surrounded by stories of aliments being healed, adding to the mystique of the track’s underlying story. Vargas has shaped her own childhood experience to the lens of a present day child making the same pilgrimage while facing the current realities of the pandemic.
“The song is about a girl, maybe 10 or 11 years old, in Glorieta, New Mexico who is witnessing the confusion and devastation of the beginnings of the 2020 pandemic,” Vargas shares. “She is sitting in church listening to the priest (Father Rodney) preach, telling the congregation that this is ‘the year of the faithful,’ that it is a test of faith. The girl is saying the prayers and singing along in the mass, but her mind is clearly elsewhere.”
Where you might expect a traditional ‘religious’ instrumentation given the narrative, “Glorieta to the Holy Place” is quiet and serene, matching the contemplation that the young girl in the song is undertaking. Initially introduced with flute, the majority of the song is carried by soft piano, coming full circle with the outro’s matching flute arrangement. It feels cinematic, with the story of the lyrics at the focus and bookended by the opening and close, only highlighting Vargas’ folk-style storytelling further.
Diving deeper into the song’s narrative, Vargas explains that “The girl has seen the fear and pain the pandemic has brought with it. She recalls hearing about El Santuario de Chimayo and the healing powers of its sand [and] decides in that moment that she will make the pilgrimage, for the sake of her family and her community, that an extreme act of faith such as this is the only way to make the hurt go away.” Detailing the note the young girl writes to God in the margins of a hymn, the lyrics continue to tell the story of how the girl plans to make the trek and deliver the letter to the church – from Glorieta to the holy place – asking God to bring an end to the struggles she’s witnessed. Raw and heartfelt, even those non-religious are likely to find a connection to the song’s character in her desire to find a way to make life better, especially in the context of the pandemic.
“Glorieta to the Holy Place” follows earlier singles “Church of the Misdirection” and “Rumpumpo,” all taken from her anticipated album release, Rumpumpo, available now.
