Saturday, January 26, 2008
Name :Soraya
Profession :
Songwriter, guitarist, arranger, record producer, and singer
Birth Details :
born 1969
Soraya (pronounced so-RYE-ah) (born 1969) is a Colombian-American songwriter, guitarist, arranger, record producer, and singer. She is a successful Latin music star who had two Number 1 songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts. She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Awards for Best Songwriting and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards for Female Pop Vocal Album for her album, El Otro Lado De Mi. She was the opening act for the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her career has spanned 10 years and 5 albums so far.
Ethnic Background Soraya is a United States citizen who was born in New Jersey in 1969, one year after her father, mother and brother moved to the United States from Colombia. Her family was forced to move back to Colombia, but when Soraya was eight-years-old, her family returned to New Jersey. Soraya is a very common name in the Middle East. Soraya's maternal side of the family is Lebanese. Her mother's family were Christians who emigrated from Lebanon to Colombia.
Soraya's Parents Soraya's mother, Yamila Cuevas Gharib, was a housewife in Colombia, but when the family moved to the United States, her parents had to work extremely hard. Her father worked three or four jobs, and it was hard for the family to make ends meet. In Colombia he worked for an exporting company. Soraya was never allowed to speak English in her house while growing up. It was the one thing that her mother insisted upon. Her father brought the family to the United States because he wanted to increase the opportunities for himself and his children.
Her father studied English long before he arrived in the United States, but her mother preferred to speak Spanish although she did learn English, as well. While her mother wanted Soraya and her brother to become fluent in English in school, she also wanted them to retain their ability to communicate well in Spanish. Mother's Breast Cancer and Death When Soraya's mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer, Soraya was only twelve years old. Then Soraya's mother had a recurrence when Soraya was 18 years old, and then her mother died in 1992 when Soraya was 22 years old. Soraya said that her sense of responsibility increased because she needed to take care of her mother and do all of the chores around the house. It forced her to grow up faster than other children her age. Soraya would go to the doctor's office with her mother, and did research with her about breast cancer, and participated in the Race for the Cure with her.
Childhood Musical Background Soraya first became interested in music at the age of five when she heard her uncle playing music in Colombia. Her uncle played Colombian traditional folk music on an instrument called the tiple, which is a kind of guitar with triple strings. Her parents purchased a guitar for her at her request, and she taught herself to play it. Soraya became proficient in classical violin and her first 'public' performance was as a violinist at Carnegie Hall in New York City. As a high school student, Soraya began writing her own music in English and Spanish. Education Soraya attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she studied English literature, French philosophy and women's studies. She performed musically in coffee houses around Rutgers University while a student there. Marital Status Soraya was married, but she divorced in 2000 - the same year that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She presently lives in Miami, Florida.
Soraya obtained a record contract with Polygram Latino/Island Records in 1996. Her first album, called On Nights Like This, received positive critical acclaim and enabled her to tour and open for famous musicians such as Natalie Merchant, Zucchero, Sting, Michael Bolton and Alanis Morissette. Four of her songs climbed to the top of the charts just about everywhere in the Latin American and United States Hispanic markets, and her single Suddenly/De Repente dominated the Billboard Latin Pop listings. Her second album, Wall of Smiles, co-written with her idol Carole King and released in late 1996, helped her attain worldwide recognition. Unfortunately, her breast cancer was diagnosed shortly after the release of her third album - just before she was about to tour to promote it. Soraya has since created two more successful albums.
source: netglimse
