Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla, later known as Flor Silvestre, was born in 1930 in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico, to a family with a strong musical heritage. Her parents, Jesús Jiménez Cervantes and María de Jesús Chabolla Peña, were fond of singing mariachi music, and their daughter inherited their talent.
At the age of 13, Flor Silvestre made her debut as a singer at the Teatro del Pueblo in Mexico City, and soon after, she began performing on the radio, broadcasting on XEFO, Mexico's national radio station. Journalist Arturo Blancas suggested she change her stage name to Flor Silvestre, and she went on to win a singing contest sponsored by XEW, Mexico's most famous radio station.
Flor Silvestre's early success led to her being offered a contract to tour with a showman's company, which took her to northern Mexico and later Central and South America. She returned to Mexico City in 1950 and began performing at El Patio, the city's finest nightclub, where she was discovered by producer Gregorio Walerstein, who invited her to become an actress.
Flor Silvestre made her film debut in Primero soy mexicano (1950),co-starring Joaquín Pardavé and Luis Aguilar, and she also signed her first recording contract with Columbia Records. Her early hits include "Imposible olvidarte", "Pobre corazón", "Que Dios te perdone", and "Guadalajara".
Throughout the 1950s, Flor Silvestre became one of the new starlets of Mexican cinema, appearing in films such as Raquel's Shoeshiner (1957) with Cantinflas, Pueblo en armas (1959) with Armando Silvestre, and The Soldiers of Pancho Villa (1959) with María Félix. In 1959, she married her recurring co-star Antonio Aguilar.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Flor Silvestre became a cinematic symbol of the Mexican Revolution, starring in films such as ¡Viva la soldadera! (1960),Lauro Puñales (1969),and Benjamín Argumedo el rebelde (1979). Her last film appearance was in Triste recuerdo (1991).
Throughout her career, Flor Silvestre was known for her extraordinary singing talent and prolific film career, earning her a reputation as one of Mexico's greatest recording artists and a major star of classic Mexican movies.
