Lissette
Encyclopedia
Lissette Álvarez is a singer, songwriter and record producer from Peru
. She is best known for recording a Spanish language
version of Bonnie Tyler
's "Total Eclipse of the Heart
" in 1985.
, Peru
, at a time when her parents, Cuban TV stars Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez (Olga y Tony) were touring South America
. Lissette made her first recording, the children's song "El Ratoncito Miguel", along with her parents when she was just five years old. (The song eventually became a hit.) The family lived in Havana
.
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
.
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).
. 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.
.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. She is best known for recording a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version of Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
's "Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total Eclipse of the Heart
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night...
" in 1985.
Early life
Lissette was born in 1949 in LimaLima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, at a time when her parents, Cuban TV stars Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez (Olga y Tony) were touring South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Lissette made her first recording, the children's song "El Ratoncito Miguel", along with her parents when she was just five years old. (The song eventually became a hit.) The family lived in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
.
She and her sister were sent to live in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early 1960s through Operation Peter Pan
Operation Peter Pan
Operation Peter Pan , was an operation coordinated by the United States government , the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, and certain Cubans. Between 1960 and 1962, over 14,000 children were sent from Cuba to Miami by their parents...
, 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
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959, who feared that the government would indoctrinate their children into communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
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
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Career
Lissette started her career in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
as an adolescent, then later moved to Miami. She hosted her own shows in the Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
network in Puerto Rico for several years and did Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning TV specials at Channel 10 and Channel 4 in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. 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
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
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
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, she is known as: "an interpreter of romantic songs influenced by the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
" (Cuban Music from A to Z, page 12).
Family
She was first married to singer Chucho AvellanetChucho Avellanet
Armando Hipólito Avellanet González , nicknamed "Chucho" is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor...
. Together, they hosted El Show de Chucho y Lissette on Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
. Lissette is presently married to Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Willy Chirino
Willy Chirino
Willy Chirino, born April 5, 1947 in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba, is an entertainer and singer in the salsa style.-Early Family Life:...
. They reside in Miami.
Support for democracy in Cuba
Lissette has supported Yo No Coopero Con La DictaduraYo No Coopero Con La Dictadura
' is a civil disobedience campaign by Cuban democracy activists.The campaign, utilizes the slogan "I do want change," and is articulated in six fundamental points: "I do not repudiate, I do not assist, I do not snitch, I do not follow, I do not cooperate, and I do not repress." Furthermore, as a...
.