Olga Guillot

Olga Guillot
Background information
Also known as	La Reina del Bolero
Born	October 9, 1922(1922-10-09) Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Died	July 12, 2010(2010-07-12) (aged 87) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Bolero
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1945–2010

Olga Guillot (October 9, 1922 – July 12, 2010^[1]) was a Cuban singer who was known to be the "queen of bolero". She was a native of the Cuban city of Santiago.

Guillot and her family moved to Havana, Cuba when she was a small child. As a teenager, she and her sister, Ana Luisa, performed as a duo, named the "Duo Hermanitas Guillot".

Biography

It wasn't until 1945 that her talent as a bolero singer would be discovered, when Facundo Rivero, an influential man in the Cuban music industry of the era, heard her sing for the first time, and helped her make her professional singing debut, at a famous Havana night club. Soon after, Guillot met Miguelito Valdés, who took her to New York City, where Guillot was able to record her first album, with the Decca label.

Guillot traveled to Mexico in 1948. There, she established herself as an international singer and actress, participating in various films and making her second album. In Mexico, Guillot began to enjoy much popularity for the first time in her career.

In 1954, she recorded her song "Mienteme" ("Lie to Me"), which became a hit across Latin America, and earned her three consecutive awards back home in Cuba as Cuba's best female singer.

1958 proved to be an important year for Guillot, as she toured Europe for the first time, including stops in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. She sang alongside the equally legendary Édith Piaf during a concert held in Cannes.

Olga Guillot kept a house in Cuba as she travelled around the world with her music, apart from her house in Mexico. But Guillot opposed Fidel Castro's Government, and, in 1961, she decided to leave Cuba for good and establish herself in Venezuela. Not long after that, she left Venezuela, making Mexico her only permanent residence country.

Meanwhile, she kept touring around the world, singing in places such as Israel, Japan, Hong Kong and many others. In 1963, Guillot was given the Golden Palm award as "best bolero singer of Latin America". She received the award in Hollywood, California. Guillot sang in 1964 at New York's famed Carnegie Hall becoming the first Latin artist to sing there.

Guillot continued on touring for the next forty years, releasing over fifty albums and winning numerous awards for her activity in the music world. She was very good friends with Celia Cruz, to whom she often referred to as "(her) sister". When Cruz died from cancer, Guillot was very bereaved over the loss of her close friend and compatriot. She was the godmother of the iconic singer José José.

Her albums and music are prohibited in Cuba. Guillot was a quiet but strong critic of Castro and his policies towards Cuban residents. Guillot lived mainly in Mexico and had another home on Miami Beach, Florida.

Death

On July 12, 2010, she died of an infarction at the age of 87 in the city of Miami Beach. She is survived by one daughter, Olga Maria Touzet-Guillot, born from her relationship with pianist and composer, René Touzet.

Discography

With Panart Records

• 3105 Sus Primeros Exitos (1946)

With Puchito Records

• MLP-509 Olga Guillot (1954)
• MLP-515 Romance y Melodia (1956)
• MLP-525 Olga Guillot (1957)
• MLP-526 Intimidades (1958)
• MLP-530 Creaciones de la Guillot (1958)
• MLP-538 Olga en Mexico (1959)
• MLP-555 Olga de Cuba (1960)
• MLP-559 Comunicando (1961)
• MLP-564 Lo mejor de Olga Guillot (1963)
• MLP-580 La Insuperable Olga (1964)

With Musart Records

• DM-672 Olga(1961)
• DM-751 Canciones de Maria Grever (1962)
• DM-855 Temperamental (1963)
• DM-935 Añorando el Caribe (1964)
• DM-959 12 Exitos Romanticos (1964)
• DM-1060 Mas Exitos Romanticos (1965)
• DM-1180 Y siguieron los Exitos (1966)
• DM-12561 Bravo (1967)
• DM-1280 Adoro & Celoso (1967)
• DM-1312 Olga le canta a America (1968)
• DM-1360 Olga Guillot interpreta a Manzanero (1968)
• DM-1423 Olga Guillot Volumen 14 (1969)
• DM-1572 La mujer que te ama (1970)
• DM-1507 Quien da mas? (1971)
• DM-1576 Y ahora....Olga (1972)

With CBS Records

• 1479 Se me olvido otra vez (1976)

With Orfeon Records

• 11473 Lo nuevo de Olga (1978)

With Interdisc Records

• 526066 Para mi publico (1982)

With Warner Records

• 87844-2 Faltaba yo (2001)

References

1. ^ "Fallece Ola Guillot; del luto el bolero" (in Spanish). Diario Milenio. Notimex. July 12, 2010. http://www.milenio.com/node/485473. Retrieved July 12, 2010. 

External links

Cuba portal

• Contactomagazine.com, in Spanish
• Enrique Hernandez, "Sunset on a Golden Age", The Miami Herald, October 8, 2007

Persondata
Name	Guillot, Olga
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 9, 1922
Place of birth
Date of death	July 12, 2010
Place of death