Raquel Olmedo

Raquel Olmedo
Background information
Birth name	Siomara Anicia Orama Leal
Born	(1937-12-30) 30 December 1937 Caibarién, Las Villas, Cuba
Genres	Pop, folk, Mariachi, world
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1956–present
Labels	CBS (1977–1983)
Website	RaquelOlmedo.com

Raquel Olmedo (pronounced [raˈkel olˈmeðo]) (born Siomara Anicia Orama Leal on 30 December 1937 in Caibarién, Las Villas, Cuba) is a Cuban actress and at one time singer. She started her career in her native Cuba before moving to Mexico in 1959 at the start of Fidel Castro's regime's rule of Cuba.

Biography

Raquel began her career in theatre singing opera in her native Cuba. In the wake of the 1959 Cuban revolution, when millions of people fled Cuba, Raquel came to Mexico in 1959 as an unknown artist. She did a little work in the movie business before finally landing a small role in the telenovela La sombra del otro in 1963.

Whilst she was relatively new to the acting world, Raquel excelled in this genre further revealing yet another talent that she would master. She built a body of acting experience before finally being able to indulge her first field, singing. After the popularity of her starring role on the 1975 telenovela Lo Imperdonable, Raquel got a record deal with CBS Records and released her first album Mitad Mujer, Mitad Gaviota. Her career as a singer proved initially successful, with the title track from this record (written by Lolita De La Colina) becoming a radio hit. She would tour throughout all Latin America in the coming years while continuing her television and film work. In the coming years, she released a total of 5 albums, her last being the ranchera album Mañana Ya Ni Vengas in 1983, produced by popular ranchera arranger song Pedro Ramirez, who was famous for his work with Javier Solís and Vicente Fernández.

Today she is celebrated as one of the most important figures in the Mexican entertainment industry. Her most recent role on the television series Barrera de amor proved to be one of her most successful acting jobs, exposing Raquel's talent to a new generation. This was also one of the first times she played a villain which offered a new perspective on Raquel's talent.

For her work in television, Olmedo was inducted into the Paseo de las Luminarias in 1984.

Albums

• Mitad Mujer, Mitad Gaviota (1977)
• Tu, Siempre Tu (1979)
• No Señora (1980)
• La Fuerza De Una Voz Que Impone El Cambio (1982)
• Mañana Ya Ni Vengas (1983)
• Con el Alma en Cueros (2009)

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

TVyNovelas Awards

References

External links

• Raquel Olmedo on IMDb
• Allmusic.com entry on Raquel Olmedo's "Mañana Ya Ni Vengas" album