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.
Esta Tarde V
Olga Guillot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vi gente correr
Y no estabas tu
La otra noche vi brillar
Un lucero azul
Y no estabas tu
La otra tarde vi
Daba besos a su amor ilusionada
Y no estabas tu
Esta tarde vi llover
Vi gente correr
Y no estabas tu
El otoño vi llegar
Al mar oí cantar
Y no estabas tu
Ya no se cuanto me quieres
Si me extrañas o me engañas
Solo se que vi llover
Vi gente correr
Y no estabas tu
In Olga Guillot's song "Esta Tarde Vi Llover," the singer describes feeling alone and abandoned as they observe the world around them. They witness rain falling and people scurrying about, but their lover is nowhere to be found. The singer reminisces about other moments when they have noticed love, such as when they saw a blue star twinkling or a bird giving kisses to its mate, and it only reinforces the absence they feel in their own life. As autumn arrives and the sea sings, the singer questions whether their lover still loves them or if they are being deceived.
Through the lyrics of the song, it is clear that the singer is experiencing a great deal of sadness and loneliness due to the absence of their loved one. The rain and people running represent the chaos and unpredictability of life without the comfort of love, while the examples of love the singer observes only serve to make their absence feel more pronounced. The arrival of autumn and the singing of the sea further emphasize the passage of time and the impermanence of relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Esta tarde vi llover
This afternoon I saw the rain fall
Vi gente correr
I saw people running
Y no estabas tu
And you weren't there
La otra noche vi brillar
The other night I saw a brilliant
Un lucero azul
Blue star
Y no estabas tu
And you weren't there
La otra tarde vi
The other afternoon I saw
Que un ave enamorada
That a love-struck bird
Daba besos a su amor ilusionada
Was giving kisses to its hopeful love
Y no estabas tu
And you weren't there
El otoño vi llegar
I saw the arrival of autumn
Al mar oí cantar
I heard the sea singing
Y no estabas tu
And you weren't there
Ya no se cuanto me quieres
I no longer know how much you love me
Si me extrañas o me engañas
If you miss me or deceive me
Solo se que vi llover
All I know is that I saw the rain fall
Vi gente correr
I saw people running
Y no estabas tu
And you weren't there
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Armando Manzanero Canche
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind