Milagros del Rosario Quezada Borbón (born May 21, 1955) is a Dominican-American singer specializing in Merengue. She is a four-time

Latin Grammy Award 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 ...

winner and has been referred to as the "Queen of Merengue" because of her impact on the world of merengue music.

Early life

Milagros Quezada Borbón was born in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, the daughter of two

Cibao The Cibao, usually referred as El Cibao, is a region of the Dominican Republic located in the northern part of the country. As of 2009, the Cibao region has a population of 5,622,378, making it the most populous region in the country. The region ...

natives and sister of four musician brothers. Growing up in such a musical family, Quezada became interested in music as a toddler—she would sing along with her brothers for family, friends, and small gatherings near her home. Quezada and her family—her mother, Australia, and siblings, Rafael, Jocelyn, and Martín, moved to

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for Fort Washington (Manhattan), Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the Bennett Park (Ne ...

in order to escape the Dominican Civil War. Quezada spent her pre-teen and teen years in Washington Heights, which was a central point in the Latin music boom of the era. In New York, Quezada developed an in-depth knowledge of her favorite musical genre, merengue, the fastest of the Latin American popular dance music styles, sung in Spanish and native to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. Quezada completed her primary and secondary school in New York City and graduated cum laude from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

in 1981 with a degree in

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s and

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

. She also graduated with a paralegal degree from Gibbs College in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

in 1992.

Career

Milly, Jocelyn y los Vecinos

Her musical inclinations developed as a pastime in the streets of Washington Heights where she formed with her brothers and sister, the group that would become known as Milly, Jocelyn & Los Vecinos. Their music would identify the growing Hispanic Community of Dominicans in Washington Heights and their distinctly feminist style of Merengue captured the hearts and imagination of the growing Hispanic Community. Hits that would rise in popularity during the ‘70s 80s and 90s include "Volvio Juanita," “La Guacherna," “Tengo," and many other songs that would go on to become Christmas hits on national and international music platforms. Led by her oldest brother and musical arranger, Rafael Quezada, the "Queen of Merengue" along with the group would travel worldwide and become pioneers in the female-led musical Orchestra modality. They were first to bring live Dominican Merengue to major cities in Japan: Tokyo,

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

and

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and regularly tour countries such as Madrid, Spain, Central and South America and many states with the United States where the Dominican Diaspora thrived. The group was also first in entertaining a Presidential Inaugural Gala in 1990: President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

in Washington, D.C.

Solo career

Quezada later decided to embark on a solo career, moving to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

where she also married and became a mother, enjoying even more success as a solo artist. Since the 1990s, Quezada has been either on tour or in recording studios almost constantly, earning several prestigious awards and public recognition such as keys to cities (see below). In January 1996, after the death of her husband and manager, Rafael Vázquez, Quezada took a break from her musical career which had reached twenty years and twenty long playing records at this tragic moment in her life and the lives of her family. In 1997 she was encouraged by her longtime friend and manager, Pedro Nuñez del Risco, to retake her musical recording career which marked a "before" and "after" in her musical accomplishments. Following Vázquez's death, Quezada went on to release and popularize songs like, "Lo Tengo Todo" “Entre tu Cuerpo y el Mío" “Porque me Amaste, "Para darte mi Vida" “Vive" “Toma mi Vida" amongst many other songs.

Later career

In more recent years, Quezada has released music that collaborated with various artists such as Fefita la Grande, Maridalia Hernández,

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

, Pavel Núñez, Héctor Acosta, Ilegales, Antony Santos, and

Olga Tañón Olga Teresa Tañón OrtizIn this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is ''Tañón'' and the second or maternal family name is ''Ortiz''. (born April 13, 1967) is a Puerto Rican singer. Over the course of her career, she has earned two G ...

. Many of these collaborations were on her 2019 album, "Milly & Company". In 2020, Quezada released "Gracias A Ti", a song thanking frontline workers for their work during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

after the deadly impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers. Since 2021, Quezada has served as a coach on The Voice Dominicana where her singer won in both seasons. In 2022, Quezada published her thirty-fifth release, ''Resistirá'', with Chris Hierro, the son of singer Henry Hierro. On July 29, she released a remix of the song "Se Busca" with

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, La Ross Maria, and Techy Fatule. In 2023, she released a single, "Llegasté" with Manny Cruz. In 2023, Quezada embarked on the "Viva La Reina" tour to honor her 45 years in the music industry. She performed at venues such as the Coca-Cola Music Hall in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

and Eduardo Brito National Theater in her native

. The San Juan show was produced by Miredys Santa Rosa, daughter of

Personal life

Quezada married to Rafael Vázquez from 1976 until his death in 1996. He was also her manager. They had three children, Miguel, Anthony and Rafael Jesús. Quezada was a close friend and protégé of singer, band leader and politician

Johnny Ventura Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano (8 March 1940 – 28 July 2021), better known as Johnny Ventura nicknamed , was a Dominican singer and band leader of merengue music, merengue and Salsa music, salsa. In 2004, he received the Latin Grammy Award fo ...

. After his death in 2021, Quezada frequently performed tributes to him in her concerts. She joined Ventura's son, Jandy, on a tribute album where she performed "La Agarradera".

Awards and recognition

The "Queen of Merengue" went on to be nominated and received multiple national and international awards in the Tropical Music genre such as, four

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 ...

Awards to date; Premios Cassandra Awards in the Dominican Republic including the highest honor in her genre "Premio Soberano" in 1997.

Billboard awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

and Univision's Premio Lo Nuestro in 1998, ACE Awards in New York, "Tu Musica" award as well as "Premios Globo in NYC and in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

various " Congo de Oro" awards during several annual Carnaval de Barranquilla tours performed. Her well known Carnaval Song "La Guacherna" written by Esther Forero, is recognized along with Barranquilla's Carnival by the coveted "Worldwide Cultural Heritage" issued by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. Qwuezada been recognized by both the Senate of Puerto Rico and the Senate of the Dominican Republic as well as the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

for her cultural contribution to the music of the Americas. OTHER AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS *

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, Washington, D.C. ~ Inducted in the musical archives along with Dominican artists Luis Kalaff and Joseito Mateo in 1998. *Decorated by President Hipolito Mejia with medal "Orden Cristobal Colon/Grado Oficial" 2001 *Boulevard of the Stars in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

City, Panama ~ Awarded Bronze Star in this walk of fame Blvd. *In 2007,

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recognized her musical contribution during Hispanic Heritage Month. *Dominican Consul General Eduardo Selman presented in 2008 the medal "Orden al Merito Ciudadano" as the awards first recipient. *Named by Decree "Ambassador of Cultural Affairs" by President Dr. Leonel Fernandez in 2008 and attached to the Dominican Chancellorship, a title which remains to this day. *2008 Master of Ceremony to the Cassandra Awards televised Ceremony where she receives the "Best Actress" award for her role in the movie, "Yuniol 2" – The movie also receives "Best Picture Award" for the same year. *2010 Dominican American Nat'l Roundtable, Washington, D.C. "Lifetime Achievement Award” *2011

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, Boston, MS awards special recognition in their event at Miami Dade County Auditorium. *2011 Hostos Community College’s Presidential Medal of honor for musical contribution ~ this award was only presented to one other woman, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Sotomayor. *2011 Atlantic Chamber of Representatives of Barranquilla, Colombia's "Orden de Barlovento" medal for promoting Colombian Music worldwide. *2012 Two

Awards for current musical production "Aqui Estoy Yo" for Best Contemporary Tropical Album and for best Tropical Song, feat. Juan Luis Guerra "Toma Mi Vida". *2015

’s Mayor's Office declares Milly "Adoptive Daughter" with the golden Medal "Categoria Oro Grado Comendador". *March 8, 2017 Providence, Rhode Island During "International Women's Day" is awarded 8 declarations of excellence during the "Extraordinary Woman Gala Ceremony of 2017" along with a special citation by the Office of the Senate of the state of Rhode Island. *2017 Governor's Atlantic Department of

awards the medal, "Puerta de Oro de Colombia" by the Colombian Embassy in the

; and declares artist as musical Ambassador, during special event in Teatro La Fiesta, Hotel Jaragua, D.R. for worldwide promotion of Colombian songs written by Barranquilla's author, Esther Forero. *2019 ASCAP Latin Heritage Award *In February 2021, the

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, led by Representative Adriano Espaillat (a fellow Dominican), officially recognized Quezada and her contributions to music. *2021

Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award The Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is an honor presented annually by the Latin Recording Academy, the same organization that distributes the Latin Grammy Awards, to commend performers "who have made contributions of outstanding artistic ...

Keys to the City received by Quezada: *

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

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Cinematography

In early 2009, Milly joined eleven other Dominican music legends on a national tour celebrating the merengue and

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...

music traditions of the country. That tour was transformed into a Felix Limardo documentary entitled Sol Caribe. The movie features an original song, La Puerta del Nuevo Mundo that is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration of the twelve stars. The film was the closing feature at the III Dominican Republic Global Film Festival in November 2009 and was attended by the President of the Dominican Republic. In addition to the Cassandra Awarded movie, "Yuniol 2" Milly has played important roles in the movies: “Cal y Arena,” Puerto Rico; “Hermanos R.D.” in Dominican Republic and the movie “Juanita” written produced and directed by Leticia Tonos that was released in December 2018. In 2022, a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about Quezada, titled ''MILLY Queen of Merengue'', was announced starring Sandy Hernandez and directed by Leticia Tonos.

Discography

In over four decades in the music industry, Quezada has released 31 records sponsored by a variety of record labels including

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

Milly y los Vecinos

*''1976 Esta es Milly con los Vecinos'' (''This is Milly with los Vecinos'') *''1977 La gente de hoy'' (''Today's People'') *''1978 Pa' Dominicana'' (To Dominican Republic'') *''1979 Milly en Boleros'' (''Milly into

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 ...

s'') *''1980 Los Vecinos en su momento'' (''The Vecinos at Their Best Moment'') *''1981 Fiesta Con Los Vecinos'' (''Party with Los Vecinos'') *''1982 Acabando'' (''Kicking Some'') *''1983 Nostalgia'' (''Nostalgia'') *''1983 Milly en Salsa'' (''Milly into Salsa'', alongside Luis "Perico" Ortiz) *''1983 Avant Garde'' (

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

) *''1984 Esta Noche, Los Vecinos'' (''Tonight, Los Vecinos!'') *''1985 Dinastía'' *''1986 Special Delivery'' *''1987 Etiqueta Negra'' (''Black Tie Affair'') *''1988 Por Supuesto'' (''Of Course'') *''1989 Ahora Es'' (''Now's the Time'') *''1990 7+1= Vecinos'' *''1991 Flying Solo'' *''1993 Celebrando'' (''Celebrating'') *''1995 Lo Mejor de Milly y los Vecinos'' (''The Best of Milly y los Vecinos'', a remix) *''1995 En tus manos'' (''In Your Hands'')

As a solo singer

Quezada has recorded many solo albums, receiving a

for ''Pienso asi'', ''MQ'' and ''Aquí Estoy Yo''. *1997: ''Hasta siempre'' (''Forever'') *1998: ''Vive'' (''Live'') *2000: ''Tesoros de Mi Tierra (Treasures From My Land).'' Her first experience singing bachata. *2001: ''Milly, éxitos y más'' (''Hits and More...'') *2002: ''Pienso así...'' (''This Is How I Think'') *2005: ''MQ'' *2015: ''Solo Boleros La Milly una noche'' (''Just Boleros Milly, one Night'') *2016: ''Sólo Faltas Tú'' (''You're The Only One Missing'') *2016: ''Aquí Estoy Yo'' (''Here I Am'') *2019: ''Milly & Company'' *2022: ''Resistirá''

References

External links

Official Site in SpanishDiscography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quezada, Milly 1955 births Living people Musicians from Santo Domingo 20th-century Dominican Republic women singers Latin Grammy Award winners Merengue musicians Bachata musicians 21st-century Dominican Republic women singers Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Latin music songwriters Dominican Republic performers of Christian music Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Women in Latin music