Bolero

Bolero on vinyl: love songs from Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico

In short: The Latin American bolero is a slow, romantic love song that emerged in Cuba at the end of the 19th century and spread across the whole of Latin America. Olga Guillot, Bobby Capó and Mexican trios made it one of the continent’s most popular styles. The Vinyl Room currently has 100 bolero records, many of them from the sixties and seventies.

What is bolero?

From Cuba the bolero travelled to Mexico, where guitar trios made it famous in the forties and fifties, and to Puerto Rico, where singers such as Bobby Capó shaped it. The Cuban singer Olga Guillot was celebrated as the “queen of bolero”. Later salsa orchestras such as Tito Puente’s also recorded boleros, and in 1997 the Buena Vista Social Club took the old Cuban songs around the world. By the way, the style has nothing to do with Ravel’s “Boléro” – that goes back to a Spanish dance.

What to look for

Many bolero records were pressed in Latin America, on labels that are hardly known in Europe. Well-preserved copies of such editions are not always easy to get in Europe. Label, catalogue number and runout show which edition you have.

From our stock

First pressings

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FAQ

What is a bolero? A slow, romantic love song from Latin America that emerged in Cuba at the end of the 19th century.

Who was Olga Guillot? A Cuban singer known as the “queen of bolero”.

Does the bolero have anything to do with Ravel’s “Boléro”? No. Ravel’s work goes back to a Spanish dance, the Latin American bolero is a love song.