Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario (born
April 11,
1955in
Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a
Puerto Rican singer that has achieved great success both in the island and abroad. She has been in the
music business from a very young age, and has released over twenty
albums through her career. For her stamina through the years, and the sensuality of her shows, she is considered by many as a "Latin Diva".
Childhood Surprise
Ednita was born
April 11,
1955 in
Ponce, Puerto Rico to Domingo and Gudy Nazario. She has two older brothers (Tito and Alberto). Ever since she was a baby, Ednita showed inclinations to
music. A family anecdote tells that when she was two, she went shopping with her mother but scurried off her in the market. She was found singing on top of boxes to an enthusiastic crowd of shoppers laughing and clapping until her mother took her.
Some years later, when she was 6, she went to a
baseball game in
Ponce with her two brothers. While playing with her brother's glove, the batter hit the ball right towards her. Cowering behind the glove, the ball fell right in the middle of it. The crowd went wild, including
Ernest Herger, one of Puerto Rico's top
recording producers, who was seated right next to the Nazario brothers. When he asked her if she wanted to be a
baseball player, she replied
"No, I'm going to be a singer." Herger quickly asked her to sing something for him, to which she replied with an impressive rendition of a local
salsa hit that left both the producer and the crowd astonished. Everyone in the crowd applauded to her talent.
Two months later, Herger visited the Nazario household with a recording contract, which the family, reluctantly at first, signed. At 7, Ednita recorded her first song: a
Spanish version of
"My Boy Lollipop".
Teen Success
After some presentations, Ednita started her own band called
The Kids From Ponce. The group played at numerous teen-oriented events, dances, and parties. The group achieved local success and were requested at lots of TV shows. However, the group broke up after some time. Ednita, now 14, was offered to star in her own prime-time TV
variety show. During this time she also won "Miss Puerto Rico Teenage".
In
1973 she finally released her first album called
Al Fin...Ednita. The album spawned one#1 Hit, and also brought her
awards as "New Artist of the Year". With her TV show, Ednita became
Puerto Rico's hottest teen idol. The show was also syndicated to other Latin-American countries. Among the international stars that she hosted were:
Liza Minnelli,
Tommy Dorsey,
Charles Aznavour,
Morey Amsterdam and
Oscar-winning Puerto Rican actor
José Ferrer. Ferrer was so charmed by Ednita's presence that he designed a nightclub act for both of them.
Ferrer was surprised at the reception of Ednita's show. They were booked at several hotels in the
Caribbean, and even
Lake Tahoe,
Las Vegas, and
New York. At this time, she was even requested by
Monaco's Royal Family to perform at the famous casino of
Monaco.
Rising Star
In the late 70s, Ednita participated in the
OTI Festival as a
singer with the song "Cadenas de Fuego", and as a
songwriter with the song "Contigo, Mujer" (co-written with her then husband,
Laureano Brizuela). The latter, sung by
Rafael José, won the top prize of the festival. She also gained notoriety with the theme song of successful
soap opera Coralito.
During this time and the 80s, Ednita signed subsequent
record deals, first with local label
Borinquen, then
Ariola, and finally
Padosa. During this time, she matured her style to one more
pop/
rock oriented. She also cemented her place as a touring force in
Latin-America.
Ednita in the 90s
In
1991, Ednita released one of her most acclaimed
albums to date, titled
Fuerza De Gravedad. Perhaps helped by her recent
marriage and
motherhood, the album showed more focused lyrics and a more mature
singer. The album included a
duo with
Air Supply singer,
Russell Hitchcock. Her following album included collaborations by
Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti and her own husband, fellow
singer and
songwriter Luis Angel.
After a shocking breakup from her husband, Ednita refocused in her career and released
Metamorfosis in
1992, following it with presentations in some of the most prestigious halls of the island. In
1993, she sold out a concert at the
Roberto Clemente Coliseum which was released as an
album the following year. After another album, she starred an impressive run of 13 shows at the
Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center of
San Juan. After that, she went on a tour through Latin-America, where her last album had hit gold.
In
1996, she released
Espíritu Libre, which went platinum shortly after being released. On the heels of it, she sold out the
Hiram Bithorn Stadium on a show that was transmitted via
Internet.
In
1998 she was cast for the lead role in
Paul Simon's short-lived
Broadway musical,
The Capeman, sharing the stage with fellow latin stars like
Rubén Blades and
Marc Anthony. Despite its critical failure, the musical managed to put the star on another level internationally.
Back for the New Millennium
In
1999, Ednita resurged in music, with
Corazón. The album, which included collaborations of
Robi Draco Rosa, went platinum in just a week. The album also got her several awards and two
Billboard nominations. In
2001, after signing a new
record deal with
Sony Music, she released
Sin Límite, which featured fellow
singer and
songwriter Tommy Torres as producer.
In
2002 she fulfilled one of her dreams by transforming the
Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center into a
recording studio and inviting 300 friends to share with her two nights of an
acoustic concert. The concert was released in two separate
albums:
Acústico I & II. The presentation included a
duo with
Beto Cuevas, lead singer of the Latin-American band
La Ley.
Next year, with
Tommy Torres as producer again, Ednita released
Por Tí. The album featured collaborations from international superstar
Ricky Martin and
Luis Fonsi. The supporting concert broke all attendance records in
Puerto Rico. Not to be held off, she followed it with
Apasionada (again produced by Torres). This one included collaborations from
composer Claudia Brandt,
Sin Bandera's
Noel Schajris, and Luis Fonsi again.
Personal life
Ednita has been married three times. First to
Laureano Brizuela during the late 70s to the early 80s. In
1987 she married to
Luis Angel with whom she had her first and only child, Carolina. They divorced in the early 90s, but remain close friends and have collaborated with each others careers repeatedly. In the late 90s she married Luis Bonet, who is not involved in show business, and (as of 2005) have remained married.
*
Al Fin...Ednita (
1973)
*
Me Está Gustando (
1976)
*
Nueva Navidad (
1976)
*
Vete Vete... (
1977)
*
Mujer Sola (
1978)
*
Retrato De Mujer (
1979)
*
Ednita (
1982)
*
Al Rojo Vivo (
1983)
*
Tú Sin Mí (
1986)
*
Fuerza De Gravedad (
1989)
*
Lo Que Son Las Cosas (
1991)
*
Metamorfosis (
1992)
*
Live (
1994)
*
Pasiones (
1994)
*
Espíritu Libre (
1996)
*
Corazón (
1999)
*
Sin Límite (
2001)
*
Acústico (
2002)
*
Acústico Vol. II (
2002)
*
Por Tí (
2003)
*
Apasionada (
2005)
*
Apasionada Live (
2006)
Image:1-alfin.jpg|Al Fin...Ednita (1973)Image:2-meestagustando.jpg|Me Está Gustando (1976)Image:3-nuevanavidad.jpg|Nueva Navidad (1977)Image:4-vetevete.jpg|Vete Vete... (1977)Image:5-mujersola.jpg|Mujer Sola (1978)Image:6-retratodemujer.jpg|Retrato De Mujer (1979)Image:7-ednita.jpg|Ednita (1982)Image:8-alrojovivo.jpg|Al Rojo Vivo (1983)Image:9-tusinmi.jpg|Tú Sin Mí (1986)Image:10-fuerzadegravedad.jpg|Fuerza De Gravedad (1989)Image:11-loquesonlascosas.jpg|''Lo Que Son Las Cosas (1991)Image:12-metamorfosis.jpg|Metamorfosis (1992)Image:13-live.jpg|Live (1994)Image:14-pasiones.jpg|Pasiones (1994)Image:15-espiritulibre.jpg|Espíritu Libre (1996)Image:16-corazon.jpg|Corazón (1999)Image:17-sinlimites.jpg|Sin Límite (2001)Image:18-acustico.jpg|Acústico (2002)Image:19-acustico2.jpg|Acústico, Vol. II (2002)Image:20-porti.jpg|Por Tí (2003)Image:21-apasionada.jpg|Apasionada (2005)Image:22-apasionadalive.jpg|Apasionada Live (2006)* 1994 "Live"
* 2003 "Viva La Diva"
* 2004 "Acústico"
* 2006 "Apasionada Live"
* Puerto Rican
gossip magazines like
Vea,
Teve Guía,
Artistas and others always talked about a supposed rivalry between her and another teenaged Puerto Rican international superstar of the era,
Yolandita Monge.
* Ednita has been in many international publications.
Bolivia's
airline,
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), published a full-length article about her and her career on their inflight magazine.
*
List of famous Puerto Ricans*
Ednita Nazario official web site*
Ednita Nazario Fan's Site
