Robi Draco Rosa

Born

1970-06-27

Birthplace

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Biography

Draco Cornelius Rosa Suárez originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s, singing lead on the band's biggest stateside hit, "Hold Me" and featuring prominently in the accompanying music video. In 1988, at age 19, he made his motion picture debut in the film Salsa, which was a big hit in Puerto Rico. During the filming of the movie, he met actress Angela Alvarado who would later become his wife. In the 1990s he helped launch Ricky Martin's musical career into a new global setting by writing and producing various of his hottest singles including María, La Vida Loca, La Copa de La Vida, She Bangs, and Shake Your Bon-Bon. Rosa toured with Lenny Kravitz during the summer of 2004 to promote his concept album Mad Love. In April 2011, Rosa was diagnosed with a non-hodgkin lymphoma cancer near his liver. He underwent alternative and traditional treatment in Houston and Santa Monica. This kept Rosa in a hiatus for almost a year until his return in March 2012, when he started recording his latest album with "Vida", and gave a concert with Juan Luis Guerra and Rubén Blades at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot. In December 2012, he was declared cancer-free. On December 9, 2013, Rosa's manager confirmed his cancer had relapsed and was declared again cancer-free on January 5, 2014.