Draco Rosa

Draco Cornelius Rosa Suárez (Spanish: [ˈdɾako koɾˈneljus ˈrosa ˈswaɾes]; born Robert Edward Rosa Suárez, June 27, 1969), also known as Draco Rosa, Robi Draco Rosa or simply Robi or Draco, is a Puerto Rican singer, musician, songwriter and entrepreneur.

Rosa originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s, singing lead on the band’s biggest stateside hit, “Hold Me” and featuring prominently in the accompanying music video. After leaving the band he moved to Brazil where he released two albums, achieving mainstream success. Following a brief subsequent stint in California, he returned to New York and joined the band Maggie’s Dream, which split after only one album, allowing him to resume his solo career. The singer and composer has released numerous albums, and has composed multiple songs for Ednita Nazario, Julio Iglesias and former Menudo band-mate, Ricky Martin. He has also been featured on VH1’s Behind the Music.

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, Horacio Quiroga, Caetano Veloso, Glenn Danzig, Edgar Allan Poe and Jim Morrison.

In 1988, at age 18, he made his motion picture debut in the film Salsa, which was a big hit in Puerto Rico. During the filming of the movie, he met actress Angela Alvarado who would later become his wife.

In 1996, he released the Latino alternative rock album Vagabundo produced by Phil Manzanera before helping launch Ricky Martin’s musical career into a new global setting with Vuelve. Rosa wrote and produced various of Martin’s hit singles including “María”, “Livin’ la Vida Loca”, “She’s All I Ever Had”, “The Cup of Life”, “She Bangs” and “Shake Your Bon-Bon”, among others. Rosa toured with Lenny Kravitz during the summer of 2004 to promote his concept album Mad Love.

In April 2011, Rosa was diagnosed with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer near his liver. He underwent alternative and traditional treatment in Houston and Santa Monica. This kept Rosa in a hiatus for almost a year until his return in March 2012, when he started recording his latest album with Vida, and gave a concert with Juan Luis Guerra and Rubén Blades at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. In December 2012, he was declared cancer-free. In December 2013, Rosa’s manager confirmed his cancer had relapsed, and he overcame cancer once again after a second bone marrow transplant, but had to remain in quarantine for four additional months. As of February 2019, Rosa has been cancer-free for five years.

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