Adilia Castillo was born in the town of El Yagual, on the banks of the Arauca River, Apure state on August 22, 1933. Raised by her mother, Isabel Castillo, until she was five years old when Isabel married a military officer from Barquisimeto stationed in Apure. . After receiving this transfer back to Barquisimeto, she moved in with Adilia and her mother. Castillo was successful as a singer in Barquisimeto, despite her young age. While Castillo was in Barquisimeto, she began to sing on her own without formal musical education. At the age of 11 she participated in a contest on Radio Barquisimeto which, as a consequence, granted Castillo her own space to sing on the program Con la Estrellita Roja.
When she was 14 years old, she moved to Caracas where she did not find the facility to sing like her in Barquisimeto, she dedicated herself more zealously to her studies at the Liceo Fermín Toro. Due to the proximity of her high school to the bullfighting world of El Calvario park, Castillo began training as a bullfighter secretly from her family. In that activity she was known locally as “La Chica del Ruedo.” Ella Castillo classified as a bullfighter and then a novillera.
Adilia Castillo was one of the main artists in Venezuela, her royal image and her impeccable voice made her known throughout Venezuela and Latin America in a very successful way. In the 1950s and 1960s, she was a first-rate artist, with international tours and artistic encounters with the most notable figures of the time. Her participation in her cinema led her to stardom and her consolidation as a great star.
Her essence and her talent made her one of the most important artistic figures in Venezuela and her folklore. Her passion for singing and her love for her plain made her “La Novia Del Llano”. In Venezuela she is recognized as one of the best exponents of Venezuelan folklore, and her legacy is invaluable for new generations that are emerging and are about to emerge within the Creole song of Venezuela. Adilia Castillo had great versatility for Creole singing and the rhythms that compose it, her recordings range from a passage to a right six, pajarillo and counterpoints. She passed away on March 7, 2014.
