Biography:

Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla (16 August 1930 – 25 November 2020)[1] known professionally as Flor Silvestre, was a Mexican singer and actress.[2] She was one of the most prominent and successful performers of Mexican and Latin American music,[3] and was a star of classic Mexican films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her more than 70-year career[4] included stage productions, radio programs, records, films, television programs, comics and rodeo shows.

Famed for her melodious voice and unique singing style, hence the nicknames “La Sentimental” (“The Sentimental One”) and “La Voz Que Acaricia” (“The Voice That Caresses”), Flor Silvestre was a notable interpreter of the ranchera, bolero, bolero ranchero, and huapango genres. She recorded more than 300 songs for three labels: Columbia, RCA Víctor, and Musart. In 1945, she was announced as the “Alma de la Canción Ranchera” (“Soul of Ranchera Song”),[5] and in 1950, the year in which she emerged as a radio star, she was proclaimed the “Reina de la Canción Mexicana” (“Queen of Mexican Song”).[6] In 1950, she signed a contract with Columbia Records and recorded her first hits, which include “Imposible olvidarte”, “Que Dios te perdone”, “Pobre corazón”, “Viejo nopal”, “Guadalajara“, and “Adoro a mi tierra“. In 1957, she began recording for Musart Records and became one of the label’s exclusive artists with numerous best-selling singles, such as “Cielo rojo“, “Renunciación”, “Gracias”, “Cariño santo”, “Mi destino fue quererte“, “Mi casita de paja”, “Toda una vida”, “Amar y vivir”, “Gaviota traidora“, “El mar y la esperanza”, “Celosa”, “Vámonos”, “Cachito de mi vida”, “Miel amarga”, “Perdámonos”, “Tres días”, “No vuelvo a amar”, “Las noches las hago días”, “Estrellita marinera”, and “La basurita”, among others. Many of her hits charted on Cashbox Mexico’s Best Sellers and Record World Latin American Single Hit Parade.[7] She also participated in her husband Antonio Aguilar‘s musical rodeo shows.

Flor Silvestre appeared in more than seventy films between 1950 and 1990. Beautiful and statuesque, she became one of the leading stars of the “golden age” of the Mexican film industry. She made her acting debut in the film Primero soy mexicano (1950), directed by and co-starring Joaquín Pardavé. She played opposite famous comedians, such as Cantinflas in El bolero de Raquel (1957). Director Ismael Rodríguez gave her important roles in La cucaracha (1959), and Ánimas Trujano (1962), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[8] She was also the star of the comic book La Llanera Vengadora.[9] In 2013, the Association of Mexican Cinema Journalists honored her with the Special Silver Goddess Award.

Silvestre died on 25 November 2020 at her home in Villanueva, Zacatecas.[10][11]

Life and career

1930–1938: Childhood

Flor Silvestre was born Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla on 16 August 1930 in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico.[1] She was the third child and second daughter of Jesús Jiménez Cervantes, a butcher,[12] and María de Jesús Chabolla Peña (1906 – 5 September 1993).[13] Her father owned and ran a meat shop in Salamanca.[12] Her older siblings are Francisco “Pancho”, Raquel and Enriqueta “La Linda Prieta”, and her younger siblings are José Luis, María de la Luz “Mary”, and Arturo. Enriqueta and María de la Luz also became singers. Her maternal grandparents were Felipe Chabolla and Inés Peña.[13]

Guillermina was raised in Salamanca and began singing at an early age. Her parents, who were also fond of singing, encouraged her to sing.[12] She loved the mariachi music of famous Mexican singers Jorge Negrete and Lucha Reyes,[12] and also sang songs that belonged to the pasodoble, tango, and bolero genres, which were popular in Mexico in the late 1930s.[12] Her interest in singing and acting led her to participate in Christmas pageants, school plays, and local festivals.[14]

Her mother, who wanted to live in Mexico City, urged her father to sell all their property in Salmanca and relocate the family to the Mexican capital.[12] María de Jesús took her three youngest children with her to Mexico City, leaving the oldest four (including Guillermina) in Salamanca in the care of her sisters, who were nuns.[12] Guillermina completed primary school in Salamanca before reuniting with her family in Mexico City.[15] In Mexico City, her parents enrolled her in the Escuela Bancaria Comercial Milton on Madero Avenue,[15] where she took secretarial classes.[16]

Credits: