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.
Flor de Amor
Omara Portuondo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me rebosa de alegría
Cuando recuerdo aquel día
Que por una linda flor
Yo le conquisté el amor
A mi lindo guajirito
Le di a mi guajiro una flor
Amor que nunca yo olvidaré
Amor que nació de una flor
Tengo una choza de guano
A las margenes de un río
Allí vivo a mi albedrío
Muy feliz y placentera
Con el guajiro mas lindo
Al que en el mundo mas quiero
Le di a mi guajiro una flor
La flor que di en prueba de amor
Amor que nunca yo olvidaré
Amor que nació de una flor
Tengo una choza de guano
A las margenes de un río
Allí vivo a mi albedrío
Muy feliz y placentera
Con el guajiro mas lindo
Al que en el mundo mas quiero
Le di a mi guajiro una flor
La flor que di en prueba de amor
Amor que nunca yo olvidaré
Amor que nació de una flor
Amor que nació de una flor
Amor que nació de una flor
The lyrics to Omara Portuondo's "Flor de Amor" tell the story of a woman who is filled with joy and gratitude when she thinks back to the day she won the love of her guajirito (a country boy). She gave him a flower as a symbol of her love, and she knows that the love that blossomed from that simple gesture will never be forgotten. The woman describes their happily simple life together, living in a small hut by the river, where she is content and satisfied with her guajirito, the love of her life. The final line of the song repeats the sentiment that their love was born from a flower, emphasizing how one small act of love can have a big impact.
The lyrics of "Flor de Amor" celebrate the value of simple gestures and the power of love to bring happiness and contentment. The image of the flower is used throughout the song as a symbol of that love, emphasizing that even something as small as a flower can be a powerful expression of affection. By contrast, the description of their life together is similarly simple, with the woman expressing happiness and contentment with her small hut and the company of her guajirito. The song suggests that true happiness doesn't come from material wealth but from the love and companionship of another person.
Line by Line Meaning
El corazón me palpita
My heart is beating fast
Me rebosa de alegría
I am overflowing with joy
Cuando recuerdo aquel día
When I remember that day
Que por una linda flor
When for a beautiful flower
Yo le conquisté el amor
I won his love
A mi lindo guajirito
To my handsome countryman
Le di a mi guajiro una flor
I gave my countryman a flower
La flor que di en prueba de amor
The flower I gave as a sign of love
Amor que nunca yo olvidaré
Love that I will never forget
Amor que nació de una flor
Love that was born from a flower
Tengo una choza de guano
I have a hut made of straw
A las margenes de un río
At the banks of a river
Allí vivo a mi albedrío
There I live as I please
Muy feliz y placentera
Very happy and content
Con el guajiro mas lindo
With the most handsome countryman
Al que en el mundo mas quiero
Whom I love the most in the world
Amor que nació de una flor
Love that was born from a flower
Amor que nació de una flor
Love that was born from a flower
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rosendo Sr. Ruiz Suarez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eugene Olson Jiménez
La tersura de su voz ha ido ganando con la vida... es sorprendente y maravillosa! Canta como pocas personas de lo bello que lo hace... Dios nos la cuide por mucho tiempo! Y qué arreglos hermosos... Gracias a Dios por Cuba! con cariño mexicano por nuestros amigos.
Alberto Torres
I love this voice! Such a proud representation of my culture. :-)
Zé Bôsco
Esta canción es de las más lindas que ya escuché en español
Rodrigo Ortiz
Que voz unica!!!! Es perfecta!!!! Y ese ritmo!!!!! Muy cierto, GRACIAS A DIOS POR CUBA!!!!! cuanta belleza!!!!!!!!
josefa soler
...Grande Omara...!!!Una voz privilegiada...!!!
Denise Sacco
Maravilhosa
L.M. Olivera
Bella y Magnífica Omara, canta con el corazón... Gracias
Monika Tegez
Flor de amor... flor de vida!! Letras de amor... letras de vida!! M.a. M.
MegaLittlebrick
Magnificent! Respect with ♥
yolvi traverso
Una hermosura de guajira con la maravillosa voz de Omara, me encanta que en un tramode la letra dice mi nombre, sin querer...queriendo.