Chayanne
was born on
June 28, 1968.
The Latin Pop
singer who was
born as Elmer
Figueroa de
Arce in San
Lorenzo, Puerto
Rico.
Figueroa
began using
the artistic
name of "Chayanne"
when he was
a little kid.
He auditioned
for Menudo,
but was told
that 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, having
become famous
all over Latin
America, retired
for a little
while, moving
to Mexico and
staying in the
background for
a few years,
so his fans
wouldn't get
tired of seeing
him. In 1987,
he came back
like a storm,
his first solo
album producing
the Spanish
pop classic
Fiesta En America.
Chayanne was
back. He became
an instant teen
idol all over
Latin America
again. He toured
every country
that speaks
Spanish, and
in 1989 he produced
his second solo
album, which
produced another
smash hit in
Tu Pirata Soy
Yo.
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
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.
A
highway that
connects San
Lorenzo with
Gurabo, "PR-203",
is named after
Chayanne.
Chayanne
