Lissette

All Music Guide:

Daughter of the famous Cuban husband-and-wife entertainment team Olga y Tony, Lissette became a star of her own with several pop hits and many successful appearances on television and in film. Born in Lima, Peru, when her parents Olga Chorens and Tony Álvarez were on tour there, Lissette spent her early childhood with her family in Havana, toured throughout Latin America with Olga y Tony, and had her first hit at the age of five. Originally sent to America for her education, she was reunited with her parents three years later in Puerto Rico, where she received her own television show, and soon after, a recording contract.

Before long, Lissette became a Puerto Rico fashion plate and author of her own trend, the "Lissette look." Her marriage to singer Chucho Avellanet was a major celebrity event and Lissette helmed several television specials and her own soap opera (Solamente Tu). Though her recording career often took a back seat to her busy and varied performance schedule, Lissette recorded many popular songs, including "Quiereme...Tengo Frio," "Caricatura," and her Spanish cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" ("Eclipse Total del Amor"). She also appeared in the 1979 American film Winter Kills (starring Jeff Bridges, John Huston, and Anthony Perkins), and later married another recording superstar, Willy Chirino.

Wikipedia:

Lissette Álvarez is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from Cuba. She is best known for recording a Spanish language-version of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 1985.

Early life [edit]

Lissette was born in 1949 in Lima, Peru, at a time when her parents, Cuban TV stars Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez (Olga y Tony), were touring South America. While living with her parents in Havana, Cuba, Lissette made her first recording at the age of five, the children's song "El Ratoncito Miguel", which would eventually become a hit for her.

She and her sister were sent to live in the United States in the early 1960s through Operation Peter Pan, a US government sponsored program in conjunction with the Catholic Welfare Bureau that transported 14,000 Cuban children from Cuba to the United States. The scheme was devised for families opposed to the Cuban revolution of 1959, who feared that the government would indoctrinate their children into communism.

After 3 years in the US, she and her sister were reunited with their parents in Miami and the whole family moved to Puerto Rico.

Career [edit]

Lissette started her career in Puerto Rico as an adolescent, then later moved to Miami. She hosted her own shows in the Telemundo network in Puerto Rico for several years and did Emmy Award winning TV specials at Channel 10 and Channel 4 in Miami, Florida. Lissette had a successful recording career having more than 30 albums including 8 gold albums and 2 platinum albums. Lissette is an accomplished singer and songwriter that has produced most of her albums. She has received countless awards during her singing career, including a UNICEF award for her humanitarian work with children.

In Latin America, she is known as: "an interpreter of romantic songs influenced by the ballad" (Cuban Music from A to Z, page 12).

Family [edit]

She was first married to singer Chucho Avellanet. Together, they hosted El Show de Chucho y Lissette on Telemundo. Lissette is presently married to Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Willy Chirino. They reside in Miami.

Support for democracy in Cuba [edit]

Lissette has supported Yo No Coopero Con La Dictadura (English:  I Do Not Cooperate with the Dictatorship).