Lissette Álvarez Chorens, commonly known as Lissette, (born March 10, 1947) is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. She is best known for recording a Spanish language-version of

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

's "

Total Eclipse of the Heart "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the lead Single (music), single by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler from her fifth studio album, ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' (1983) written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded in 1982, released as a single ...

" in 1985.

Early life

Lissette was born March 10, 1947, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, at a time when her parents, Cuban TV stars Olga Chorens and Tony Álvarez (''Olga y Tony''), were touring South America. While living with her parents in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Operation Peter Pan Operation Peter Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a clandestine exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors ages 6 to 18 to the United States over a two-year span from 1960 to 1962. They were sent by parents who feared, on the basis of unsu ...

, a US government sponsored program in conjunction with the Catholic Welfare Bureau, and which transported 14,000 Cuban children from Cuba to the United States. The scheme was devised for families opposed to the

Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

of 1959, who feared that the government would indoctrinate their children into

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

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

Career

After two years in the US, Lissette and her sister (both of whom had been separated from each other) were reunited with their parents in Miami and the whole family moved to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1965 where she lived until 1979 and where she worked as a singer. In 1977 she was selected by

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

, the biggest Spanish Language TV Channel of America to represent the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the sixth edition of the

OTI Festival OTI Festival (, ), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), featuring participants representing primarily Ibero-Americ ...

. Her entry, entitled "Si hay amor volverá" (If there is love, he will return) was warmly welcomed by the national juries, to the point that she ended second with eight points in a tie with the Dominican entrant Fernando Casado. Lissette started her career in

as an adolescent, then later moved to Miami. She hosted her own shows in the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

network in Puerto Rico for several years and did

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winning TV specials at Channel 10 and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in Miami, Florida. Lissette had a successful recording career having more than 30 albums including 8

gold album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

s and 2

platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

s. Lissette is an accomplished singer and songwriter who has produced most of her albums. She has received countless awards during her singing career, including a

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

award for her humanitarian work with children. In Latin America, she is known as: "an interpreter of romantic songs influenced by the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

" (Cuban Music from A to Z, page 12).

Family

She was first married to singer

Chucho Avellanet Armando Hipólito Avellanet González, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish-Catalan descent. Avellanet was involved with the Nueva ola movement in the 1960s. See also * List of Puerto Ricans This is a ...

. Together, they hosted ''El Show de Chucho y Lissette'' on

. Lissette is now married to

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

award-winning singer and songwriter

Willy Chirino Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Early life Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States ...

. They reside in Miami.

References

Sources

Cuban Music from A to Z. By Helio Orovio. Durham, NC:

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...

, 2004. xi, 235 p.

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lissette 1947 births Living people Cuban women singers Musicians from Lima Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States Women in Latin music