Guillot and her family moved to Ciudad Havana when she was a small child. As a teenager, she and her sister, Ana Luisa, performed as a duo, named the "Duo Hermanitas Guillot".
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 Valdes, 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 traveled 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.
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 one of the most affected persons in the show business world.
Her albums and music are prohibited in Cuba. Guillot remained 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.
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.
Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado
Olga Guillot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
que en broma me negaste
se escapó de tus labios
sin querer
Asustada por ello buscó abrigo
en la inmensa amargura
de mi ser
no me niegues tus besos
que el amor que te he dado
no podrás olvidar
No me preguntes nada,
que nada he de explicarte
que el beso que negaste
ya no lo puedes dar.
Cuando vuelva a tu lado
y esté sola contigo
las cosas que te digo
no repitas jamás
por compasión;
une tu labio al mío
y estréchame en tus brazos
y cuenta los latidos
de nuestro corazón
Une tu labio al mío
y estréchame en tus brazos
y cuenta los latidos
de nuestro corazón
The first stanza of Olga Guillot's "Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado" talks about a denied kiss that was unintentionally released from the lips of the person addressed in the song. The singer tells us that she took refuge in an immense bitterness as she was afraid to show her true feelings. The irony here is that even though the singer was rejected initially, she can't resist the charm of the same person and wants to come back to him for love.
The chorus emphasizes the desire of the singer for the return to the beloved one and ultimately being kissed by him. She implores him not to deny her kisses that she always gave him out of pure love. The singer tells him not to ask any question as she doesn't need to explain why she is back. He just needs to understand that the kiss denied is what she needs from him when she returns. The second stanza talks about how when the singer is alone with the person, she wants him to merge his lips with his and embrace her in his arms. She wants him to listen to her heartbeats and forget all the things she said out of pity. She wants to hold him tight and feel his warmth, and in that moment, they will forget everything else and just listen to the rhythm of their hearts.
In summary, "Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado" is about the desire to come back to the person you love despite being rejected earlier. The singer implores her lover not to deny her the love they once shared, and she expects him to understand the emotions behind the kissed denied earlier.
Line by Line Meaning
Recuerdas aquel beso
Do you remember that kiss
que en broma me negaste
that you jokingly denied me
se escapó de tus labios
it slipped from your lips
sin querer
unintentionally
Asustada por ello buscó abrigo
Frightened by it, it sought refuge
en la inmensa amargura
in the immense bitterness
de mi ser
of my being
Cuando vuelva a tu lado
When I return to your side
no me niegues tus besos
don't deny me your kisses
que el amor que te he dado
because the love I have given you
no podrás olvidar
you won't be able to forget
No me preguntes nada,
Don't ask me anything
que nada he de explicarte
because I have nothing to explain to you
que el beso que negaste
the kiss you denied
ya no lo puedes dar.
you can no longer give it.
Cuando vuelva a tu lado
When I return to your side
y esté sola contigo
and I am alone with you
las cosas que te digo
the things I tell you
no repitas jamás
never repeat them
por compasión;
out of compassion;
une tu labio al mío
join your lip to mine
y estréchame en tus brazos
and hold me tight in your arms
y cuenta los latidos
and count the heartbeats
de nuestro corazón
of our hearts
Une tu labio al mío
Join your lip to mine
y estréchame en tus brazos
and hold me tight in your arms
y cuenta los latidos
and count the heartbeats
de nuestro corazón
of our hearts
Writer(s): Stanley Adams, Maria Grever
Contributed by Colton G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.