Portuondo was born in October 1930 in Havana, one of three sisters; her mother came from a wealthy Spanish family, and had created a scandal by running off with and marrying a black professional baseball player. Omara started her career in 1945 as a dancer at Havana's Tropicana Club (following her older sister, Haydee). The two sisters used to sing for family and friends, however, and after a brief time in a band called Loquibambla Swing, in 1952 they got together with two friends (Elena Bourke and Moraima Secada) and formed the singing group Cuarteto las d'Aida, backed by pianist Aida Diestro. The group had considerable success, touring the United States, performing with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana, and recording an album for RCA Victor.
In 1959 Portuondo recorded a solo album, Magia Negra, involving both jazz and Cuban music. This didn't, however, mark the beginning of a solo career, and although Haydee left the group in 1961, Omara continued singing with Cuarteto las d'Aida until 1967.
In 1967 Portuondo embarked on a solo career, and in the same year represented Cuba at the Sopot Festival in Poland, singing Juanito Marquez' "Como un Milagro". Alongside her solo work, in the 1970s she sang with charanga band Orquestra Aragon, and toured with them.
In 1974 she recorded, with guitarist Martin Rojas, what would become one of her most critically acclaimed albums in which she sings praises to Salvador Allende and the people of Chile a year after the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Among many other hits from the album, she also praises the work of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in the beautiful "Hasta Siempre".
During the 1970s and 1980s Portuonda enjoyed considerable success at home and abroad, with tours, albums (including one of her most lauded recordings in 1984 with Adalberto Alvarez), film rôles, and her own television series. Her international profile was due to soar, however, in 1996.
Portuondo sang (duetting with Compay Segundo) on the album Buena Vista Social Club in 1996. This led, not only to more touring (including playing at Carnegie Hall with the Buena Vista troupe) and her appearance in Wim Wenders' film The Buena Vista Social Club, but to two further albums for the World Circuit label: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo (2000) and Flor de Amor (2004). In July 2005 she presented a symphonic concert of her most important repertoire at the Berlin Festival Classic Open Air am Gendarmenmarkt for an audience of 7,000. The entire program was specially orchestrated by Roberto Sánchez Ferrer, a colleague with whom she had worked during her early years at Havana's Tropicana Club. Scott Lawton conducted the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg.
Besame Mucho
Omara Portuondo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después
Quiero tenerte muy cerca mirarte a los ojos que estes junto a mi
Piensa que tal vez mañana estaré lejos muy lejos de ti
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después
The lyrics to Omara Portundo's "Bésame mucho" express a deep desire for intimacy, while also acknowledging the fear of losing that intimacy. The singer pleads with her partner to kiss her deeply and passionately, as if it were the last time they would be together. She wants to feel close to her partner, to look into their eyes and be held tightly. At the same time, she expresses her fear - the fear that she might lose her partner and be separated from them.
The song taps into the universal emotions of love, longing, and fear, as well as the human desire for physical intimacy and emotional connection. It speaks of the intensity of feeling that comes with being in love - the sense of urgency and immediacy that can arise when we realize how much we care for someone.
Overall, "Bésame mucho" is a powerful and evocative love song that captures the complex emotions that come with being in love, and the importance of cherishing the connections we make with the people we care about.
Line by Line Meaning
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Kiss me, Kiss me a lot
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez
As if tonight were the last time
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Kiss me, Kiss me a lot
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después
Because I'm afraid of having you and losing you afterwards
Quiero tenerte muy cerca mirarte a los ojos que estes junto a mi
I want to have you very close, look into your eyes and be next to you
Piensa que tal vez mañana estaré lejos muy lejos de ti
Think that maybe tomorrow I'll be far, far away from you
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Kiss me, Kiss me a lot
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez
As if tonight were the last time
Bésame, Bésame mucho
Kiss me, Kiss me a lot
Que tengo miedo a tenerte y perderte después
Because I'm afraid of having you and losing you afterwards
Writer(s): Mikel Erenchun Acosta Copyright: Polyarpa
Contributed by Samantha D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
efrain Fabricio Ramos Cruz
Que gran cantante Omara Potuondo su afinacion es unica ,perfecta y magistral es una artista de otra galaxia. Sus agudos y fraseos, y los compaces son perfectos.
Su voz es un color perla divino.🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺Saludos desde San Isidro de Soledad Ecuador.
Fabricio Ramos.
Jasna Maksimovic
My favorite version of this song... Thank you for uploading it :)
Luis Oscar Paz
Qe gran cantante!!! Qe Afinación.. Fraseo genial .. se disfruta muuchooo
Luis Tovar
Tremenda cantante
Harry Dikana Situmeang
BRAVO...👍👍👍💯
Nadia Garibaldi
ꕥꕥ ღ꧁ღ╭⊱ꕥ❤ꕥ⊱╮ღ꧂ღ ꕥꕥ
Linda Maestra ♡*★ Linda por fabor 💝
Joanna Gomez
Jesus Luna de cdmx, pronto iré por tus besos, siempre tuya tu dulce tentación desde Colombia ❤️
Alina AN
Genial
Dallya Vizo
💖
► URBAN LATIN
TODOS MIS BESOS SON SOLO TUYA. Y MI ULTIMO BESO PARA TI VA ESTAR 1MIN ANTES Q TENGO Q IRME.
Y NINGUN BESO VA RECIBIR OTRO PERSONA EN MI VIDA. SOLO SIEMPRE TUYAS.
TAMBIEN TODO MI AMOR Y Q PASA EN LA CAMA WA UNICAMENTE TUYA. KARINA TAPIA.