Cruz Manuel Hernández Santiago (born December 1, 1972), known artistically as Manny Manuel, is a Puerto Rican musician and singer of merengue,

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

, and tropical music. He became famous first as a member of the group Los Sabrosos del Merengue, before launching a successful solo career in 1994.

Early life

Manny Manuel was born in the mountain town of

Orocovis, Puerto Rico Orocovis (, ; from the Taíno, Taino chief Orocobix) is a town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the center of the island. Founded by Juan Rivera de Santiago in 1825. Orocovis is spread over 17 barrios. It ...

. He studied elementary and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the José Rojas Cortés School at his hometown. Since a young age, he started presenting himself in

talent shows A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are ...

and other musical activities. He later joined the group Tempo Merenguero, and subsequently became a

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

for the merengue duo of Mayra y Celinés.

Musical career

After several years, Manuel joined the group Los Sabrosos del Merengue, debuting with the hit song "Fiera Callada". After the success of the song, the group released their first album, '' Sin Fronteras'', featuring Manuel prominently in the lyrics. The album even included a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress with a career spanning more than four decades. She performed pop music, bolero, mariachi and romanti ...

's song "Te Amo". The group continued with their second album titled '' Haciendo Historia''. These included hits like "Colegiala" and "Frente a Frente", among others.

Soloist career

After recording these two albums with Los Sabrosos, Manuel decided to pursue a solo career. In June 1994, Manuel left the group and on October 1 of the same year debuted as a solo artist. Several months later, he released his first solo album titled '' Rey de Corazones''. The album was

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

after a few weeks. With the success of the album, in November 1995, Manuel presented himself at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center selling out six shows. In 1996, he released his second album titled '' Auténtico'' followed by concerts at the Guaynabo Performing Arts Center and at the

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the large ...

. The following year, he collaborated with several artists in concerts and albums like: * Performances with Trío Los Condes, especially the song "Querube". * Collaboration with Antonio Cabán Vale "El Topo" titled '' Lo que mi Pueblo Atesora''. * Recording the Salsa song "Payaso" from Raphy Leavitt. * Release of the album ''Manuel y el Trío Borínquen'' comprising traditional

boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

. * Recording the song "Dame la mano y ven" (a Spanish version of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

hit song "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

") for the album '' Tropical Tribute to the Beatles''. * Performances of several of

Bobby Capó Félix Manuel "Bobby" Rodríguez Capó (January 1, 1922 – December 18, 1989) was a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. He usually combined ballads with European classical music, classical music and was deeply involved in Puerto Rican folk ...

's hits for the album '' Siempre Piel Canela'' released by Banco Popular.

2000–present

Manuel released his next album titled '' Es Mi Tiempo'' in 1998 which included the hits "Como duele", "Margarita", and a cover of

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Award ...

' song "Corazón partío". The album took him on a tour through Spain where the album was certified gold. His next album, '' Lleno de Vida'', preceded a second presentation at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. This concert was recorded and later released on CD. After a change of labels and a move to the United States, Manuel released the album '' Serenata'' in 2003, which included covers of traditional romantic songs. The album sold over 100,000 and Manuel followed it with yet another presentation at the Coliseum in 2004. For this album, he was also nominated for a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

. In 2007, he released another album, '' Tengo Tanto'', which included fusions of merengue with other Caribbean rhythms like

vallenato Vallenato () is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the ''Sierra Nevada de Santa Mar ...

. Manuel was one of several artists selected to perform in "KQ Live Concert" on September 27, 2008, organized by KQ 105 FM, the event included several renowned artists from Puerto Rico and other Latin American locations.

Accident and controversy

On December 29, 2011 a bloody and seriously injured Manny Manuel was found by the side of the Baldorioty de Castro Avenue in San Juan, Puerto Rico in critical condition after witnesses claim he was a victim of a hit and run by an unidentified vehicle. Further investigations are now revealing this could not have been an accident, but an intentional attack against the singer. Investigations are currently being conducted in order to clarify the latest developments. The Puerto Rican singer went to Orlando and to receive “help in all aspects”, this according to his publicist. He released a new album in 2014 '' Serenata Vol. 2''. On August 22, 2014 Manny Manuel celebrated his 20 years as a singer, with a concert in "El Coliseo Bellas Artes", in Puerto Rico. On February 24, 2019, after showing clear signs of drunkness, he was ejected of

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

carnival by government officials. After of this, the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

and the Consistory of the

Puerto de la Cruz Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all langu ...

also canceled the concerts that the artist was going to give in those cities.

Discography

* '' Especialmente Para Ti!'' (1994) * '' Rey de Corazones'' (1995) * '' Auténtico'' (1996) * '' Es Mi Tiempo'' (1998) * '' Lleno de Vida'' (1999) * ''Manny Manuel'' (2002) * '' Serenata'' (2003) * ''

Nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

'' (2004) * '' Tengo Tanto'' (2007) * '' Rayando el Sol'' (2010) * '' Serenata Vol. 2'' (2014)

References

External links

Manny Manuel Website – Universal Music LatinoMySpace Official ArtistFacebook Official ArtistTwitter Official ArtistBiography at Fundación para la Cultura PopularBiography by Patricia MaldonadoBiography at LaHiguera.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Manny 1972 births Living people People from Orocovis, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers Merengue musicians Universal Music Latino artists RMM Records artists