| Draco Rosa | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Edward Rosa Suárez |
| Born | June 27, 1970 Long Island, New York |
| Genres | Rock Latin Rock Alternative Rock Art Rock Experimental Rock |
| Occupations | Musician Singer-Songwriter Producer Actor |
| Years active | 1984-present |
| Labels | RCA Records Phantom Vox Sony Music |
| Associated acts | Menudo Lenny Kravitz Maggie's Dream Ricky Martin |
Draco Cornelius Rosa Suárez (born June 27, 1970), also known as Robi Draco Rosa, Robby Rosa, Draco Rosa or simply Draco, is a Puerto Rican Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award winning musician, dancer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor.
Born as Robert Edward Rosa Suárez on Long Island, New York and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s. In recent years, he has appeared on VH1's Behind the Music, I Love the '80s and the Hong Kong-based talk show Where Are They Now? in archived footage of early concerts and videos. He has released four concept albums, consisting of "Vagabundo", "Mad Love", "Vino" and "Amor Vincit Omnia".
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Rosa's early interest in music led him to audition for the Latin pop boy band, Menudo, where he replaced Johnny Lozada in 1984 and quickly became a fan favorite. He was the second band member 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, having been born in New York. With the group's cross-over to English, his timing in joining Menudo was perfect, as he was able to sing most of the English songs. The group's first English album Reaching Out, featured a single which was in the Hollywood film Cannonball Run 2, "Like A Cannonball." Rosa sang the single.
On his second album with the group, he sang his first Spanish-language single hit, "Sabes A Chocolate" ("You taste like chocolate"). His third album with Menudo featured another English hit with "Hold Me", which gained airplay on most mainstream radio stations and had a music video that gained play. In 1987, he was replaced in Menudo by Rubén Gómez after the band's manager denied Rosa the opportunity to contribute songs to the group. Rosa was also 17 years old when he quit, 1 year over the age limit set by management.
Rosa has been highly influenced by the works of Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Iggy Pop, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Luis Alberto Spinetta, The Doors, Camarón de la Isla, Caetano Veloso and Glenn Danzig. In 1996 he released the Latino alternative rock CD Vagabundo produced by Phil Manzanera.
He helped launch Ricky Martin's musical career into a new global setting by writing and producing some of his hottest singles including "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "She Bangs". Rosa toured with Lenny Kravitz during the summer of 2004 to promote his 2nd (all English) concept album Mad Love.
In 1988 he starred in his only Motion Picture role in the movie "Salsa: The Motion Picture" which was a big hit in Puerto Rico, and made $8,892,589 and is still a popular movie today..
His 2008 album Vino is filled with Dark Ambient electronica and Alternative Rock melodrama.
His 2009 album Amor Vincit Omnia was nominated for Best Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album for the 53rd Grammy Awards.[1]
On December 2011, it was announced that Rosa was working on a new musical project involving other artists, an album of cover songs. Alejandro Sanz publicly announced through Twitter his collaboration with Tommy Torres and other artists on a new CD produced by Phantom Vox and Draco himself. The new musical project consists of an all-star album in which artists, chosen by Draco Rosa, will sing covers of some of his confirmed famous hits like Vagabundo, Cruzando Puertas and Penélope. Angelo Medina, producer, manager and close personal friend of Draco's confirmed this to the local press. Juan Luis Guerra also confirmed to participate. Other artists rumored to participate include Ricky Martin and Juanes.[2]
Rosa currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Angela Alvarado and two sons, Revel Angel and Redamo. He owns a recording studio, an independent music label and a multimedia company under the name of Phantom Vox and a private hacienda in Utuado, Puerto Rico under the name Hacienda Horizonte, where he has shot two music videos of his Amor Vincit Omnia album: Hay Que Llegar (Paraíso Prometido), and Reza Por Mí
On April 25, 2011, Rosa was diagnosed with stomach cancer: a non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his lower abdomen, near his liver.[3]
Rosa has also contributed towards the improvement of artistic and cultural life in Puerto Rico, sponsoring the Museum of Art and Museum of Contemporary Art, and setting up an annual scholarship for outstanding students at the Music Conservatory.