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Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas
(March 11, 1969 – May 10, 2006) was a Colombian-American songwriter,
guitarist, arranger, record producer, and singer. She was a successful Latin
music star who had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts.
She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Awards for "Best Songwriting" and a 2005 Latin
Grammy Awards nomination 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 spanned ten years, and she recorded five albums.
Early life
Soraya Lamilla was a U.S. citizen born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, 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, they returned to New Jersey. "Soraya" is a very common name in the Middle
East. Soraya's maternal side of the family were Lebanese Christians who
emigrated from Lebanon to Colombia.
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.
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 eighteen
years old, and then her mother died in 1992 when Soraya was twenty-two 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.
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. She 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.
Soraya attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she studied English
literature, French philosophy and women's studies. Initially, Soraya worried she
might be too shy to play before big crowds, but she eventually triumphed over
her fear and realized her tremendous talent as a live performer when she played
to rapt audiences at coffee houses and rallies around the sprawling Rutgers
campus.
Musical career
Soraya obtained a record contract with Polygram Latino/Island Records in 1996.
Her first album, called En Esta Noche (English-language version 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 U.S. Hispanic markets, and her single "Suddenly/De Repente"
dominated the Billboard Latin Pop listings. Her second album, Torre de Marfil
(English-language version Wall of Smiles), co-written with her idol Carole King
and released in late 1997, 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. Yet, Soraya
created two more successful albums before she finally succumbed to the disease
in 2006.
Breast cancer advocate
Soraya died of breast cancer on May 10, 2006, age 37. She was first diagnosed
in 2000, at the age of 31, after finding a lump while conducting a routine
self-examination. She was diagnosed at Stage III and had a double mastectomy and
breast reconstruction as well as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Before
being diagnosed, she had always eaten right, exercised regularly (trying to run
at least 3 miles a day), meditated, and received regular health check-ups.
Soraya had previously lost her mother, grandmother, and maternal aunt to breast
cancer. She was a breast cancer advocate for support and education, especially
of Hispanic women. Soraya became the first Latin spokesperson for the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, touring all the Americas to raise awareness.
During September and October, she took a break from her music career to focus on
breast cancer awareness.
In order to encourage other women, Soraya wrote and recorded "No One Else/Por
Ser Quien Soy", a song that reflects her experience in fighting breast cancer.
Both tracks can be downloaded on her official website. All proceeds benefit the
Susan Koman foundation.
"I know there are many questions without answers, and that hope doesn't leave
with me, and above all, that my mission does not end with my physical story,"
were Soraya's last words to her fans and the media before her passing.
From Wikipedia
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