Olga Tañón

Olga Tañón was born on April 13, 1967 in Santurce. She is also the first Puerto Rican to win both the American and Latin Grammys for the same song.

Olga Tañón Born to a middle class family, Olga is the youngest child of José and Carmen Tañón. She has three older siblings. Even though her childhood and teenage years were that of any average child, Olga always wanted to be a singer.

Olga's singing career started when she joined a group called "Las Nenas de Ringo y Jossie" (Ringo and Jossie's Girls) in the 1980s. A short time later a very popular group in Puerto Rico called "Chantelle" noticed her mezzo soprano voice and recruited her. They saw in her what they needed for their "merengue" style of music. When Tañon was a member of Chantelle, they scored their biggest hit, "Aunque Tu no Quieras" (Even if You Don't Want It), which was a popular song across Latin America.

In 1992, Olga signed a contract with the "WEA Latina" recording studios to record a solo. Her first recorded album was titled "Sola" (Alone). Among the other songs in the album were "Me Cambio por Ella" (He left me for Another) and "Quiero estar Contigo" (I want to be with You).

In 1993, She recorded her second album for "WEA Latina", titled "Mujer de Fuego" (Woman of Fire). Olga also debuted as a composer with the song "Presencie tu Amor" (I felt your Love).

In 1994, Olga won her first "Double Platinum Record" and in 1995, she won three more Platinum Records with her albun titled "Siente el Amor" (Feel the Love). This album also included another one of her compositions "Unicornio" (Unicorn), which was written to the rytheme of "Salsa". Olga had gained fame and recognition throughout Latin-America.

Olga recorded a Tex-Mex CD with Mexican singer Marco Antonio Muñiz called "Nuevos Senderos". She was now being heard internationally and with that recording she became the first Puerto Rican to be certified by the RIAA to have sold over half a million records.

In 1997, Olga debuted as an actress in the Puerto Rican version of the popular production of Jesus Christ Superstar produced by Rafo Muñiz. She played the part of Mary Magdalene. This version had a tropical feel to it and included some of Olga's songs.

In 1998, Olga married Juan "Igor" Gonzalez the Puerto Rican major league baseball star. They had a daughter from their union but, in 1999, after many scandals, the marriage ended in divorce. The two had a daughter, Gabriela González Tanon.

In 2000, Olga, who was now known as the "Woman in Fire" by her fans, recorded her first live concert titled "Olga viva...Viva Olga" in the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida. This production was named by the "National Fundation of Popular Culture" as one the top 20 productions of the year. Olga won a Platinum Record and a Grammy for that production.

On August 2000, Olga sold-out 12 functions in the "Antonio Paoli Hall" at The Luis A. Ferre Center of the Beautiful Arts in San Juan. Later in that same month she debuted in the "Bass Performance Hall" in Fort Worth, Texas. Her performances received raving reviews from the newspapers "Fort Worth Star" and "The Dallas Morning".

At the end of the year 2000, Olga presented her musical spectacular at the "Anayansi Theater" in Panama and then she toured the southeastern United States with Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez.

In 2001, Olga recorded a CD titled "Yo por Ti" (Me for You) which won her both the American and Latin Grammys. This CD became a best seller in Puerto Rico, Latin-America and in the United States.

In 2002, Olga had presentations in many countries, some of which were Venezuela, Panama and the U.S. In 2003, Olga started her European tour in Spain and in that year she also won her fourth Grammy. Olga has made a total of ten recordings for "WEA Latina".

Olga continues to be active recording. She is also planning on a "cross-over" (recording in English), following in the footsteps of her fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin.

In 2005, Olga Tañón made it public that her daughter Gabriela is one of only 50 people in the world to have the strange Sebastian's syndrome disease. Her plans are to keep touring and donate some of the money she earns to find her daughter a cure. She also has a son, from her marriage to producer Billy Denizard.