Chayanne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chayanne

Background information
Birth name	Elmer Figueroa-Arce
Born	June 28, 1968
Origin	San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico
Genre(s)	Latin
Years active	1984 - present
Label(s)	BMG Sony Records

Chayanne (born June 28, 1968) is a Latin Pop singer who was born as Elmer Figueroa-Arce in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. He has sold over 10 million albums worldwide (1 million in Spain).

Figueroa began using the artistic name of "Chayanne" when he was a little kid. He auditioned for Menudo, but was told at the time that he was too little for that group. He didn't give up and he heard that Titi Soto was trying to create a new group that would compete with Menudo, and so he went and tried out. He was chosen for the group and his meteoric rise to the top began.

That group, Los Chicos, made several #1 hits, including Puerto Rico Son Los Chicos, and Terremoto. And while it never was as popular as Menudo was, it did give Menudo good competition, becoming famous all over Latin America, participating in a movie (Coneccion Caribe), and producing millions of Los Chicos-related memorabilia like t-shirts, rulers, magazines etc.

After Los Chicos went bankrupt in 1984 and separated, Chayanne became famous all over Latin America. His first album, "Chayanne es mi Nombre" was released in that year, having a modest success in Central America. His second album, "Sangre Latina" was released in 1986. A few years later he released his first of two massively successful eponymous albums, in 1988, which included several singles that propelled him to stardom, such as Honorio Herrero's "Tu Pirata Soy Yo", José María Cano's "Fuiste un Trozo de Hielo en la Escarcha" and "Este Ritmo Se Baila Así", composed by Pierre-Edouard Decimus, Jacob Desvarieux and Roberto Livi. His third 1989 album included the hits "Fiesta en América", composed by Honorio Herrero and the ballad "Peligro de Amor", composed by Paulo Massadas and Michael Sullivan. In 1990 he released the album which many fans consider as his best: "Tiempo de Vals", featuring some of his best-selling singles such as the title track, composed by José María Cano, "Completamente Enamorados", composed by Piero Cassano, Adelio Cogliati and Eros Ramazzotti and "Daría Cualquier Cosa", composed by Luis Gómez Escolar and Julio Seijas.

The 1990s brought some changes for Chayanne. He tried his hand at acting, married Marilisa Maronese, with whom he formed a family, and moved to Miami. His acting jobs include being himself in Volver a empezar, playing a Cuban dancer along with Vanessa L. Williams in Hollywood's 'Dance With Me', and a few soap operas in Argentina, including Provocame. He has also kept on touring and producing CDs, and along with Ricky Martin, is considered to be Puerto Rico's biggest teen idol ever. Songs such as "Salomé", "Torero", "Boom Boom", "Enamorado", "Atado A Tu Amor", "No Te Preocupes Por Mi", "Caprichosa" and "Y Tú Te Vas" are some of his greatest hits.

A highway that connects San Lorenzo with Gurabo, "PR-203", is named after Chayanne.