Helena Bianco

Elena Vázquez Minguela was born in Valladolid on 6 January 1948 and grew up in the city's Barrio España, a neighbourhood she kept close to her heart all her life. She showed a strong voice as a child, singing from the age of eight on small local radio programmes and in theatres around the city and taking part in children's song festivals. She studied music at the Valladolid Conservatory. Her brother, Alberto Vázquez, remained one of her closest companions.

Her first group was Los Jolly's, with whom she won several local competitions and had a success with Supercalifragilisticoespialidoso. In 1968 the group renamed itself Los Mismos. As a trio with Antonio Pérez Gutiérrez of Valladolid and Benjamín Santos of Palencia, and with Helena Bianco as lead singer, Los Mismos became one of the most popular pop groups in Spain, regularly topping the sales charts with what were known as songs of the summer. Their best known recordings included El puente, Voy a pintar las paredes con tu nombre, San Bernardino and Ata una cinta alrededor del viejo roble, the Spanish version of Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.

The group broke up around 1980, and Helena Bianco began a solo career, including a spell as singer of the pop rock band Bianco. Los Mismos reunited in 1996, and El puente once again became a favourite at their concerts.

In 2003 she came third in Telecinco's talent show Vivo cantando, behind Karina and Braulio, which led to a part in the film A la sombra de los sueños. In 2007 she took part in TVE's Misión Eurovisión, the contest to choose Spain's Eurovision entry, singing as Los Amantes with her husband Guillermo Antón. From 2009 she was a regular on Telecinco's nostalgia programme ¡Qué tiempo tan feliz!, presented by María Teresa Campos.

In 2019 she returned to prime time on Antena 3's La Voz Senior, singing Mari Trini's Una estrella en mi jardín in her blind audition and joining the team of Pablo López. She went on to win the first edition of the show. She continued to perform until autumn 2026, including a concert closing the Virgen de San Lorenzo festivities in Valladolid on 10 September 2026.

Helena Bianco was married to the singer Guillermo Antón, with whom she also performed as a duo. She lived in Madrid for many years but returned often to Valladolid to see her family and to sing. She told her own story in the autobiography Entre el cielo y el suelo, published by Editorial Milenio in 2022, and served as president of Pioneros Madrileños del Pop, an association of pioneers of Spanish pop music.

On 4 November 2026 Helena Bianco announced on social media that she had cancer and was cancelling her upcoming performances to undergo chemotherapy. Her brother Alberto Vázquez later said on television that it was a hard, very aggressive neuroendocrine cancer that was not responding to treatment, and she was treated at the Hospital Puerta de Hierro in Madrid.

She died in Madrid in the early hours of Thursday 12 November 2026, aged 78. Her brother announced her death on Instagram with the words "Fly high, my love. Rest. I have no idea how to live without you", alongside one of her best known songs. The family asked for donations to a foundation supporting people with neuroendocrine cancer instead of flowers. Her body lay in rest at the Tanatorio Memora in Majadahonda from midday on 12 November, and a farewell was planned at Valladolid City Hall the following day. The mayor of Valladolid, Jesús Julio Carnero, wrote that she always had Valladolid and her Barrio España in her heart.

As the voice of Los Mismos, Helena Bianco sang some of the best loved Spanish pop songs of her era, songs that for decades were heard at festivals, weddings and summer dances across Spain. Her victory on La Voz Senior at 71 showed that her voice had kept its power, and introduced her to younger audiences. In Valladolid she is remembered as one of the city's most famous daughters.