Hilda Murillo

Hilda Murillo was born in Guayaquil on December 15, 1951, the daughter of singer and music teacher Fresia Saavedra and guitarist and composer Washington Murillo.^[1][2] Singing since age four, at seven she recorded a disc of children's tunes with the Orquesta América.^[1] This produced the hit songs "La Marcha de las Letras" and "La Canción de los Domingos".^[3] She would later record more Ecuadorian songs together with her mother.^[2] In her youth she studied medicine, but dropped out in her third year to dedicate herself to music, particularly the genres of pasillo, bolero, and ballad.^[1][2]

The title track of her 1973 album Palabras, Palabras was a #1 hit on Miami radio, and was awarded a gold record.^[4][5] She was declared Woman of the Year by Vanidades magazine, in addition to being named the most successful Latina artist by the Association of Latin Entertainment Critics.^[2]

Hilda Murillo represented Ecuador at OTI Festival 1974 in Mexico. She has also been a television presenter, and president of the Association of Professional Artists of Guayas (ASAPG).^[2]

In 2018, she received a Boca en Boca Award for her musical career from TC Televisión in Guayaquil. That year she also released her album Hilda Murillo para siempre.^[6] In the same year she sang with her mother at the Museum de Pasillo in Quito where people had gathered to recognise the 87 year old singer Héctor Jaramillo [es].^[7]

She was a candidate for the National Assembly in 2021, representing District 2 of Guayas Province for the Social Christian Party, but did not receive sufficient votes to be elected.^[8]

Her husband, businessman Pío Cupello, died in 2011.^[1]

• Hilda Murillo discography at Discogs