Cuban Singer “Bolero Queen” Olga Guillot Dies At 86

July 13th, 2010 - 6:50 pm ICT by GD  

By Ranjan Bhaduri
Bolero QueenFlorida, July 13, (THAINDIAN NEWS) “Queen Of El Bolero” Cuban singer Olga Guillot breathed her last on Monday at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. The singer was 86 years old and was admitted in the hospital for high fever. News of her death was confirmed by the Miami Dade County Medical Examiner’s office.

Olga Guillot rose to fame as she became the first Latin artist who performed at the Carnegie Hall of New York. Santiago native Olga Guillot had been performing right from the age of 13 when she held the second position with her sister at a singing competition. When she reached 20, she was already performing alongside Edith Piaf. Olga Guillot left Cuba in the year of 1962 and settled in Mexico. By that time Cuba had already witnessed the Communist Revolution which crippled the framework of the country. Olga Guillot was an unsparing critic of Fidel Castro and his government and owing to the political conditions she left her native place and moved to Venezuela. However, she didn’t stay back in Venezuela for long and moved over to Mexico which became her permanent residence.

Olga Guillot is perhaps one out of a handful of singers who holds 10 platinum and 4 gold records. Apart from singing she also did cameos in movies where she played herself. It was in the year of 1954, when Latin America first heard her classic “Mienteme” (”Lie to Me”) which made her clinch three consecutive awards and establish her name as a “Bolero” singer. Olga Guillot maintained a house in Cuba and in Mexico while she toured all over the world for her musical shows.

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