Dräco Rosa

Infobox Musical artist


Img_size = 150
Name = Dräco Rosa
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Robert Edward Rosa Suarez
Alias = Robi Rosa
Draco Cornelius
Dräco
Born = birth date and age|1969|6|27
Height =
Origin = Westbury, Long Island, New York
Instrument = Singing,Guitar
Genre = Rock, Pop, Latin
Occupation = singer
Years_active = 1984–present
Label =
Associated_acts = Menudo, Ricky Martin
URL =

Dräco Rosa (born June 27, 1969), originally known as Robi Rosa, and also known as Dräco Cornelius Rosa, among other names, (born Robert Edward Rosa Suarez) is a multi-talented artist of Puerto Rican descent. Among his talents, Rosa has been a composer, writer, singer, musician, poet, painter, and actor. Rosa originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s. More recently, he is best known for his solo career and for writing hit songs for fellow artists, among them Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias and Ednita Nazario.

Biography

Menudo Years

Born Robert Edward Rosa Suarez on June 27, 1969, Westbury, Long Island, New York to Puerto Rican parents. As "Robby Rosa" he was a member of Puerto Rican singing Menudo from Valentine's Day, 1984 to 1987. Robby was the second band member ever to join the singing group who was not a native of Puerto Rico, ("Miguel Cancel was born in Illinois"). He was also the first member who spoke English fluently, since Robby was born and grew up in New York, and moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico later. His interest in music led him to audition for Menudo and where he replaced Johnny Lozada and quickly became a fan favorite. With the groups cross-over to the [english language) occurring at the time, Robby's timing to join Menudo was perfect, as he was able to sing most of the English songs. The groups first English album "Reaching Out" featured a single which was in Hollywood hit "Cannonball Run 2". The single was sung by Robby. On Robby's second album with the group he sang his first Spanish single hit which was called "Sabes A Chocolate" (You taste like chocolate). On his third album with Menudo another English hit was followed with "Hold Me" which gained airplay on most mainstream radio stations and had a music video that gained play. He was replaced in Menudo by Ruben Gomez after the band's manager denied Rosa the opportunity to contribute songs to the group. However, Rosa quit at age 17, 1 year over the limit set by management of the boy-band.

olo career

After Menudo, Rosa took up residence in Brazil, recording some music in Portuguese. Upon his return to the United States he went on to star in a minor Hollywood hit, the 1988 movie "Salsa". On the set, Rosa fell in love with his co-star Angela Alvarado. They wed a few months after the movie's release, started raising a family and have also been working as partners in Rosa's different projects ever since.

In 1990 Rosa moved to Los Angeles and formed a rock band called "Maggie's Dream" which released an album under Capitol Records. In the early 1990s Rosa legally changed his name to "Draco Cornelius Rosa" ("draco" means "dragon" in Latin) saying he wanted to leave his old image and lifestyle behind. During this time, he released two albums which differ greatly from each other. The first one, "Frio" was released in 1994 and featured a pop sound along with soft rock influences. His second major work, "Vagabundo", was released in 1996 and marked a drastic change from the previous album and image. Under the name "Draco", Rosa created a heavy and dark album that carried elements of goth, psychedelia, and heavy metal. "Vagabundo" is considered one of the greatest Rock en Español albums of all time.

During this time Rosa began collaborating with former Menudo colleague Ricky Martin, co-writing many of Martin's biggest hits, among them "Livin' La Vida Loca", "She Bangs", "Maria" and "The Cup of Life". He and co-writer Desmond Child earned Grammy nominations for their work with Martin.

In 1998 he released his first english-language album, titled "Songbirds and Roosters". It featured the English versions of the tracks from his debut album "Frío". In 2001 Rosa released a greatest hits album called "Libertad del Alma", meaning "the soul's liberty", which featured songs from an upcoming album in which he had been working for more than three years.

In 2003, Draco prepared for the release of his most ambitious project yet, an album titled "Mad Love". Released in March 2004, the album contained tragic love themes in different musical genres ranging from hard rock to flamenco ballads. The album was comprised of 15 songs, 3 of which are sung in Spanish. The album was the first to earn Rosa international recognition beyond Latin America, becoming widely popular in Europe. Rosa toured the continent with Lenny Kravitz in the summer of 2004.

Rosa received a Latin Grammy Award in 2004 for the video clip of the song "Más y Más". In September 2004, Draco took his show to Puerto Rico's new 18,000-capacity Coliseo de Puerto Rico, selling out the venue. A CD/DVD of the event was released on December 6, 2005, titled DRACO "Al Natural". He capped 2005 with 7 sold out concerts at Puerto Rico's "Bellas Artes" theatre in the month of September. His new album, "Draco Y El Teatro del Absurdo", was released on July of 2007, exclusively in Puerto Rico and online. The album will be released in different countries sporadically through the course of the next year.

On September 28, 2007, Rosa presented a concert at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum where he performed material from "El Teatro de lo Absurdo" and from previous productions.cite book| title=Draco: En libertad musical| author=José R. Pagán| publisher=El Nuevo Día| chapter=Flash!| location=Puerto Rico| language=Spanish| date=2007-09-30| pages=93] This marked his first presentation as a independent artist in Puerto Rico. The concert had a duration of 2:15 and lacked general organization, which was supposed to represent the "absurdness" in it.

Personal life

Rosa currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Angela and two sons, Revel and Redamo, although he also has a residence in Puerto Rico. Rosa has been known for using many different pseudonyms when writing songs for other artists. Among them are "Dolores del Infante", "Ian Blake" and "Phantom Vox".

Discography

*"Frio" (Spanish) (1994)
*"Vagabundo" (Spanish) (1996)
*"Songbirds & Roosters" (English) (1998)
*"Libertad del Alma" (greatest hits) (2001)
*" Mad Love" (English) (2004)
*"Como Me Acuerdo" (Spanish) (remixes) (2005)
*"Al Natural" (live) (2006)
*"Draco Y El Teatro Del Absurdo" (Spanish) (2007)

ometimes Credited As

* Robi Draco Rosa
* Robby Rosa
* Draco Cornelius Rosa
* Ian Blake
* Dolores Del Infante

Maggie’s Dream

"Maggie’s Dream (1991)"

Father Mother / Human / Living for the times / One in six

Ricky Martin

"A Medio Vivir (1995)"

Fuego de noche, Nieve de día / María / Revolución / Somos la semilla / Volverás /

"Vuelve (1997)"

Por arriba, Por abajo / Lola, Lola / Casi un bolero / Corazonado / La Bomba / Hagamos el amor /La copa de la vida / Perdido sin ti

"Ricky Martin (1999)"

Livin’ la vida loca / Spanish eyes / She’s all I ever had / Shake your bon-bon / I am made of you / Love you for a day / The cup of life / Livin’ la vida loca (Spanish version) / Bella

"Sound Loaded (2000)"

She bangs / Saint tropez / Come to me / Loaded / Amor / She bangs (Spanish version) / Ven a mi / Dame más

Ednita Nazario

"Más Grande Que Grande (1999)"Más grande que grande

Julio Iglesias

"Noche de cuatro Lunas (2000)"Te voy a contar mi vida / No es amor, ni es amar (Gone too far) / Noche de cuatro lunas (American Lady)

Wyclef J. f/The Rock & Melky Sedeck

"(2000)"It doesn’t matter

Quotes

: "Risk everything, regret nothing.": --Robi Draco Rosa

: "Music is meant to be felt and not understood.": --Robi Draco Rosa

:"Don't be afraid of trying it, be afraid of not trying it": --Manuel "Manolo" Liaño

: "To my love...chasing the antidote to desire through her reclusive country.": --Robi Draco Rosa

ee also

*List of New Yorkers
*List of songwriters

References

External links

* [http://www.phvx.com www.phantomvox.com]
* [http://www.phantomvox.com/draco www.phantomvox.com/draco]