Soraya (musician)
| Soraya | |
|---|---|
Promotional photo.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas |
| Born | 11 March 1969 Point Pleasant, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | 10 May 2006 (aged 37) |
| Genres | Latin pop, pop rock, alternative rock, world, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer/songwriter, guitarist, arranger, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1996–2006 |
| Labels | Island, Polydor, Mercury, EMI, Capitol |
| Website | soraya |
Soraya (born Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas; March 11, 1969 – May 10, 2006) was a Colombian-American singer/songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer.
A successful Colombian music star, she had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts. She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the self-titled album "Soraya" as "Best Album by Songwriter", which she produced, and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards nomination for "Female Pop Vocal Album" for her album El Otro Lado de Mi (literally "The Other Side of Me"). She was the opening act for the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her career spanned ten years, and she recorded five albums. Soraya died on May 10, 2006 following a long struggle against breast cancer.
She was born Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, a year after her father, mother, and brother moved to the United States from their native Colombia. The family moved back to Colombia when she was a baby, but when Soraya was eight years old, they returned to New Jersey. "Soraya" is a very common name in the Middle East, and its meaning can be translated "Galaxy" and not "rich" or "princess". Soraya's maternal relatives were Lebanese Christians who emigrated from Lebanon to Colombia. Soraya's mother, Yamila Cuevas Gharib, had been a housewife in Colombia. Soraya's father, Gregorio Lamilla, worked for an exporting company in Colombia; in the U.S., life was hard for the family, so to make ends meet, he worked three or four jobs.
...
Wikipedia