1930–1938: Childhood Flor Silvestre was born Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla on 16 August 1930 in
Salamanca,
Guanajuato,
Mexico. and María de Jesús Chabolla Peña (1906 – 5 September 1993). Her father owned and ran a meat shop in Salamanca. 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. In Mexico City, her parents enrolled her in the Escuela Bancaria Comercial Milton on Madero Avenue,
1943–1949: Early stage and radio success Guillermina Jiménez (Flor Silvestre) began her singing career in 1943, when she was 13 years old. She and her father attended a performance of the famous Mariachi Pulido at the Teatro del Pueblo, a
theater located in the
Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market in central Mexico City. After the performance was over, she got up on stage and told the stage director that she wanted to sing. in which she played a girl who comes out of a
railway wagon and sings "La soldadera", a song written for her by José de Jesús Morales. The play was also broadcast by Mexico's national radio station,
XEFO, and Flor Silvestre's performances there were noticed by a showman who hired her as part of his touring company. Between 1947 and 1949, Flor Silvestre and the showman's company toured
Central and
South America, performing at the best nightclubs along the way. The company eventually made its way to
Peru, where they performed for the
Mexican Air Force, before returning to Mexico. Azcárraga, the owner of XEW, Mexico's top station, gave her her first radio program,
Increíble pero cierto, which she also hosted. Walerstein, a leading film producer known as "the
Tsar of Mexican films", signed her to a five-film contract. were recorded with Rubén Fuentes' mariachi. After recording her first singles, Flor Silvestre formed a duet named Las Flores with her then-unknown sister
La Prieta Linda; they recorded two songs—"Los desvelados" and "Lo traigo en la sangre" (with Rubén Fuentes' mariachi)—for Columbia. In February 1950, she was a part of the "numerous, hybrid, but useful cast" of
¡A los toros!, a revue about bullfighting staged at the Teatro Tívoli. It was written and presented by announcer
Paco Malgesto, who would become her second husband. she was given her first leading role in the Walerstein production
Primero soy mexicano (1950), co-starring
Joaquín Pardavé (who also wrote and directed the film) and
Luis Aguilar and featuring
Francisco "Charro" Avitia. She was reunited with her
Primero soy mexicano co-stars Luis Aguilar and Francisco Avitia in the film
El tigre enmascarado, which premiered in 1951. She then appeared as the
leading lady of actor
Dagoberto Rodríguez in a film trilogy,
El lobo solitario,
La justicia del lobo, and
Vuelve el lobo (all released in 1952).
1955–1957: Return to films and television debut In early 1955, Flor Silvestre sang on the
XEW radio program
Su programa Calmex, sponsored by Calmex Sardines. Other entertainers on the program included
Miguel Aceves Mejía, the Trío Tariácuri, and the Hermanitas de Alba. In 1955, she also appeared in her first color film,
La doncella de piedra, one of the first Mexican
CinemaScope productions. An adaptation of
Rómulo Gallegos' novel
Sobre la misma tierra, the film features Flor Silvestre in the role of Cantaralia Barroso, the mother of the novel's protagonist, Remota Montiel (played by
Elsa Aguirre). Flor Silvestre had one of the starring roles in the stage play
La hacienda de Carrillo, a revue which opened on 1 July 1955 at the new Teatro Ideal. Written by Carlos M. Ortega and Pablo Prida, the play was about "a hacienda in the interior [of the country], whose owner leaves his land to embrace politics, become a deputy, and come to the metropolis in the company of his daughters". Her first film co-starring
Antonio Aguilar, her future husband, was
La huella del chacal. That same year she played a swarthy maid named Liliana in
Rapto al sol, a color film shot in
Nicaragua. In 1957,
RCA Victor released her first recording of "Cielo rojo", which would become one of her
signature songs. The single, which included "¡Qué padre es la vida!" on side B, became a hit. On Mother's Day 1957, she made her television debut with a successful performance in the television play
Secreto de familia, with
Sara García and Miguel Arenas. One of her famous roles was as Leonor, the mother of
Cantinflas' godson, in the popular
Eastmancolor comedy
El bolero de Raquel (1957).
1958–1963: First recordings for Musart Records and Ánimas Trujano She received
top billing for the first time in
Pueblo en armas (1959) and its sequel
¡Viva la soldadera! (1960), both directed by Miguel Contreras Torres. She had a supporting role opposite
María Félix in
Ismael Rodríguez's
Mexican Revolution epic
La cucaracha (1959). She also recorded "Te he de querer", "La chancla", and "La Valentina" for the film's soundtrack album,
La cucaracha: Música de la película, released by
Musart Records.
Flor Silvestre, her first Musart album, was released around 1958. It includes her early Musart hits, such as "El ramalazo", "¡Qué bonito amor!", "La flor de la canela", "Échame a mí la culpa", "Ay el amor", "Lágrimas del alma", and "Amémonos". In 1960, she starred opposite the popular comedy duo
Viruta and Capulina in
Dos locos en escena. In 1961, she rerecorded "
Cielo rojo" for Musart, accompanied by Pepe Villa's Mariachi México. This second version also became a success and is the first track of her second Musart album,
Flor Silvestre con el Mariachi México. The album also includes her early 1960s hits, "Pa' todo el año", "Renunciación", "Desolación", "El peor de los caminos", "Aquel inmenso amor", and "Para morir iguales". ,
Toshiro Mifune, and Silvestre in
Animas Trujano (1964) One of her major roles was as Catalina, the beautiful, sensuous flirt, in the
Oscar-nominated,
Golden Globe-winning drama film
Ánimas Trujano (1962), co-starring
Toshiro Mifune and
Columba Domínguez. This was her second collaboration with film director
Ismael Rodríguez after her supporting role in
La cucaracha.
1964–1969: Multiple albums In early 1964, she released her third Musart album,
Flor Silvestre con el Mariachi México, vol. 2, which includes her hits "Gracias", "Perdí la partida", "Bendición de Dios", "Árboles viejos", "Te digo adiós", "Un jarrito", "Quédate esta vez", and "Plegaria". Her fourth Musart album,
La sentimental (1964), includes both
ranchera and
bolero songs. It is her first album without mariachi arrangements; Benjamín "Chamín" Correa is credited as the album's guitarist.
La sentimental peaked at number 9 on
Record World Latin American LP Hit Parade. "
Mi destino fue quererte" peaked at number 4 on
Record World Latin American Single Hit Parade and became one of Flor Silvestre's
signature songs. In December 1964,
Cashbox ranked her among the top ten Mexican folk singers of the year. Her fifth Musart album,
La acariciante voz de Flor Silvestre, was released in 1965. One of the album's singles, "Una limosna", topped the
Record World Latin American Single Hit Parade chart. The album also includes her hits "
Gaviota traidora", "El mar y la esperanza", "Amor se escribe con llanto", and "Espumas".
Celosa con Flor Silvestre y otros éxitos (1966), her sixth studio album for Musart Records, peaked at number 11 on
Record World Latin American LP Hit Parade. The album's lead single, "Celosa", peaked at number 9 on
Cashbox Mexico's Best Sellers and number 4 on
Record World Latin American Single Hit Parade. "¿Por qué, Dios mío?", another single included in
Celosa, also charted well on
Record World Latin American Single Hit Parade. In 1967, she released two albums,
Boleros rancheros con la acariciante voz de Flor Silvestre and
Flor Silvestre, vol. 6, and made her last film of the decade,
El as de oros. In 1968, she released two albums,
Flor Silvestre, vol. 7 and
Flor Silvestre, vol. 8.
Flor Silvestre, vol. 7 includes "Reconciliación", one of her major hits from the late 1960s, as well as several other hits, including "Cenizas de amor", "Cariño malo", "Triunfamos", and "Tres días".
Flor Silvestre, vol. 8 features arrangements by famous guitarist
Antonio Bribiesca and composer Gustavo A. Santiago and includes the hits "No vuelvo a amar" and "Tú, sólo tú".
1970–1989: Final films and multiple musical genres In 1970, she released her album
Amor, siempre amor, accompanied by the Mariachi Guadalajara. The album features innovative mariachi, piano, harmonica, and
steel (Hawaiian) guitar arrangements in its songs. Its first track, "La cruz de lo imposible", is songwriter Lupita Ramos' first work. This was Flor Silvestre and Ramos' first collaboration; Ramos went on to author several other songs for Flor Silvestre. Another notable track is "La mitad de mi orgullo", by
José Alfredo Jiménez. In the early 1970s, she recorded her first
bolero album,
Y las canciones de sus tríos favoritos. The album features cover versions of popular boleros from the 1950s, including "Un siglo de ausencia", "Condición", "El reloj", and "La barca".
Cashbox included the album in its Latin Picks section and described it as "a masterpiece for lovers of Latin boleros". It was later rereleased as
Sus canciones favoritas con... Flor Silvestre (LP reissue) and
Mis boleros favoritos (CD reissue). In 1972, she released three albums:
Una gran intérprete y dos grandes compositores, a tribute to songwriters
Cornelio Reyna and
Ferrusquilla;
La voz que acaricia, which includes her hits "Solo con las estrellas" and "Hastío"; and
Canciones con alma, her second album of bolero songs. She sang two tracks from
Una gran intérprete y dos grandes compositores in the two films she made that year; she sang "Tema eterno" in
La yegua colorada and "No me lo tomes a mal" in
Valente Quintero.
Billboard included
Canciones con alma in its Top Album Picks section and wrote, "A good solid LP overall of love ballads. Best cuts: 'Vuelve', 'Tormento', 'Quisiera'". ,
Yucatán, for the film
Peregrina (1974) In 1973, she played one of
Pancho Villa's lovers in
La muerte de Pancho Villa and released her first
norteño album,
La onda norteña de Flor Silvestre. The album's cover is a photograph of her as the character in the film. She also played
Felipe Carrillo Puerto's wife, Isabel Palma, in the film
Peregrina (released in 1974), in which she sang the
Guty Cárdenas bolero "Quisiera". In 1974, she released her album
Con todo mi amor a mi lindo Puerto Rico, which is a tribute to two famous
Puerto Rican songwriters,
Rafael Hernández and
Pedro Flores. For this album she recorded four Hernández songs, "Campanitas de cristal", "Inconsolable", "No me quieras tanto", and "Silencio", and three Flores songs, "Obsesión", "Amor", and "Esperanza inútil". The album also includes "Cruz de olvido", one of her hits, and "Vuelve pronto", a Spanish-language version of "
Paper Roses". The album's release coincided with her appearance in the film
Mi aventura en Puerto Rico, in which she sang "Desvelo de amor" and "Obsesión". This same year she appeared on the film
Peregrina. She sang "La palma" in
Simón Blanco (1975) and played the female leads in
Don Herculano enamorado (1975),
El moro de cumpas (1977), and
Mi caballo el cantador (1979). In 1978, she released her album
Ahora sí va en serio, which includes several songs written by
Joan Sebastian. The title track was included in the
Cashbox Latin Singles to Watch list. Other Sebastian songs included in the album are "Levantado en armas", "Te regalo mi pena", and "Trono caído". In 1979,
Cashbox included her single "Morir al lado de mi amor" in its Latin Singles to Watch list.
1989–2020: Banda albums and tributes In 1989, she recorded
banda music for the first time. She told the press, "I was very afraid to record with a tambora; I thought it was too much sound, a lot of equipment, but when I recorded I loved it, I felt happy, and more because it was the band of Don Ramón López Alvarado. We recorded 'Los mirasoles', 'La rama', and 'Quiero que sepas'". She made her final film,
Triste recuerdo, in 1990. In 1991, she recorded her first
banda album,
Flor Silvestre con tambora, which includes a banda version of one of her bolero hits, "Caricia y herida". In 1994, she released her album
Me regalo contigo, which includes a song dedicated to her marriage with Aguilar, "Para siempre juntos", and a
vallenato song, "Sólo para ti". In 2001, she released her second banda album,
Flor Silvestre con tambora, which includes new versions of her 1960s hits "Cariño santo", "Celosa", "Desolación", "Mi destino fue quererte", and "El mar y la esperanza". On 21 December 2010, she released her most recent album,
Soledad: canto a mi amado y a su recuerdo, which she dedicated to her late husband. The album features interesting songs she had never recorded before, such as "Soledad", "Y llegaste tú", "El andariego", "Luz de luna", "Amanecí en tus brazos", "Las ciudades", "Los ejes de mi carreta", and "Sombras". On 9 March 2015, her documentary
Flor Silvestre: su destino fue querer premiered at
Zapopan's Plaza de las Américas as part of the
Guadalajara International Film Festival. The 24-minute documentary features interviews with Flor Silvestre, who recounts her life and career; her five children, Dalia, Francisco, Marcela, Antonio, and Pepe; and singers
Angélica María and
Guadalupe Pineda. In 2016, she was featured on "Para morir iguales", a track of her son Antonio's most recent album,
Caballo viejo. == Personal life ==