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One of Mexico's most famous singers, Chavela Vargas, has died at the age of 93.

The star, who had been undergoing treatment for heart and respiratory problems died in a hospital in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Vargas recorded an epic 80 albums during her career, and came to fame breaking down gender stereotypes in her homeland, as she challenged the rules of how a female singer should look and behave. A heavy drinker and smoker, she was also known for wearing men's clothes and carrying a pistol.

Although relationships with women were widely known, she only publicly admitted to being a lesbian in her autobiography, If You Want To Know About My Past when she was 81 years old. Speaking about her sexuality, she wrote: "What hurt was not being homosexual, but what they throw it in my face as if it were the plague."

Speaking about her attitude to life, she told an audience at a Mexico gig in June in 2011: "I was never afraid of anything because I never hurt anyone," she said.

"I was always an old drunk."