A successful Colombian music star, she had two number-one songs on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay charts. She won a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the self titled album "Soraya" as "Best Album by Songwriter", which she produced, and a 2005 Latin Grammy Awards nomination for "Female Pop Vocal Album" for her album El Otro Lado de Mí (literally "The Other Side of Me"). She was the opening act for the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her career spanned ten years, and she recorded five albums.
She was born Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, a year after her father, mother, and brother moved to the United States from their native Colombia. The family moved back to Colombia when she was a baby, but when Soraya was eight years old, they returned to New Jersey. "Soraya" is a very common name in the Middle East, and its meaning can be translated "rich" or "princess". Soraya's maternal side of the family was Lebanese Christians who emigrated from Lebanon to Colombia. Soraya's mother, Yamila Gharib Cuevas, had been a housewife in Colombia. Soraya's father, Gregorio, worked for an exporting company in Colombia; in the U.S., life was hard for the family, so to make ends meet, he worked three or four jobs.
Soraya first became interested in music at the age of five when she heard her uncle playing music in Colombia. Her uncle played "Pueblito Viejo", a Colombian traditional folk song using an instrument called the tiple, which is a kind of guitar with triple strings. Her parents bought her a guitar, which she taught herself how to play. She became proficient in classical violin, and her first 'public' performance was at Carnegie Hall in New York City as a member of the N.Y.C. Youth Philharmonic. She was valedictorian of her class at Point Pleasant Boro High School, where she began writing her own music.
Soraya was only twelve years old when her mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer; she was eighteen when her mother had a recurrence and twenty-two when her mother died, in 1992. Soraya had said that her sense of responsibility increased because she needed to take care of her mother and do all of the chores around the house. She would also go to the doctor's office with her mother; together they did breast-cancer research and participated in the Race for the Cure.
Soraya attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she studied English literature, French philosophy, and women's studies. Initially, Soraya worried she might be too shy to play before big crowds, but she eventually triumphed over her fear and realized her tremendous talent as a live performer when she played to rapt audiences at coffee houses and rallies around the sprawling Rutgers campus. She worked as a flight attendant before starting her music career.
Soraya obtained a record contract with Polygram Records/Island Records in 1996. Her first album, released simultaneously in both English and Spanish was titled "On Nights Like This / En Esta Noche". Both versions received positive critical acclaim and enabled her to tour in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, as a guest performer in concerts for famous musicians such as Natalie Merchant, Zucchero, Sting, Michael Bolton, and Alanis Morissette.
Her songs climbed to the top of the charts just about everywhere in Latin American, European, and U.S.' Hispanic markets. Her first single "Suddenly/De Repente" reached #1 in Billboard Latin Pop listings, with the English version receiving some mainstream Adult Contemporary airplay. Her second album, Torre de Marfil / Wall of Smiles, titled after a song co-written with her idol Carole King was released in late 1997, and helped her attain worldwide recognition.
Unfortunately, in 2000, she was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer, shortly after the release of her third album "Cuerpo y Alma / I'm Yours" — just days before she was about to tour and promote it. She took time off to fight this deadful disease.
Feeling healthy and in remission, Soraya returned to the music scene in 2003 with the release of her fourth and self-titled album "Soraya". The songs reflected her struggles, beliefs, and love for life. She composed, produced, and arranged this Latin Grammy winner for "Best Album by a Singer-Songwriter" and once again - Soraya was at the top.
She created one more successful album - "El Otro Lado de Mí", before she finally succumbed to the disease in 2006.
Soraya died of breast cancer on May 10, 2006, aged 37. She was first diagnosed in 2000, at the age of 31, after finding a lump while conducting a routine self-examination. She was diagnosed at Stage III and had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction as well as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In addition to her own death, Soraya lost her mother, a grandmother, and a maternal aunt to breast cancer.
Breast cancer advocateSoraya was a breast cancer advocate for support and education, especially of Hispanic women. Soraya became the first Latin spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, touring the Americas to raise awareness. During September and October, she took a break from her music career to focus on breast awareness.
In order to encourage other women like herself, Soraya wrote and recorded "No One Else/Por Ser Quien Soy", a song that reflects her experience in fighting breast cancer. Both tracks can be downloaded on her official website. All proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
"I know there are many questions without answers, and that hope doesn't leave with me, and above all, that my mission does not end with my physical story" were Soraya's last words to her fans and the media before her passing.
Como Seria
Soraya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No tiene lógica el argumento
A veces la vida es así
Tan cerca estuvimos alma con alma
Tu piel con mi piel quemó toda la calma
Aún no pudimos concebir
Que el hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo sería
Por culpa del miedo o del abandono
Sinceramente no sabía como
Apostar un beso contra la eternidad
Quizás soy la culpable de este destino
y sé que hoy no haría lo mismo
No te dejaría escapar
El hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo seria
Soñar sin sentir dudas
Cómo sería
Respirar sin desesperación
Cómo sería
Jamás preguntar quizás
Cómo sería
In Soraya's "Como Seria," the singer reflects on a lost love and wonders what could have been if she had acted differently. The song explores the idea of missed opportunities and regrets, and the pain that comes with thinking about what might have been. The opening lines suggest that the relationship ended prematurely, perhaps due to bad timing or a lack of understanding. Soraya sings, "Maybe it wasn't the time or the moment / The argument doesn't make sense / Sometimes life is like that."
From there, the song delves into the emotions that follow a lost love. Soraya describes the moments of intimacy she shared with her former partner, saying "Your skin with mine burned all the calm, but still we couldn't conceive." She wonders what would have happened if she had held onto the love they shared, instead of pushing it away. Her regret is clear in the refrain, where she asks "How would it be / If that day I hadn't let you go / How would it be / To kiss your lips every morning / To be able to get lost every night in your love / How would it be."
The song takes on an introspective tone in the second verse as Soraya considers whether fear or abandonment caused her to lose the person she loved. She comes to the realization that she was at fault for not fighting for the relationship and allows herself to imagine a version of reality where she did. The final lines of "Como Seria" express a longing for a life unfettered by doubt and hesitation, where love can be expressed openly and fearlessly.
Overall, "Como Seria" is a poignant reflection on the consequences of missed opportunities and the pain of regret. Soraya's lyrics convey the deep emotions of love and loss with honesty and raw vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
Quizás no fue el tiempo ni fue el momento
Maybe it wasn't the right time, or the right moment
No tiene lógica el argumento
The argument doesn't make sense
A veces la vida es así
Sometimes life is like that
Tan cerca estuvimos alma con alma
We were so close, soul to soul
Tu piel con mi piel quemó toda la calma
Your skin against mine burned all tranquility
Aún no pudimos concebir
We still couldn't conceive
Que el hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
That the fact that we didn't act and embrace what was ours
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Was the mistake that I'll live with forever
Cómo sería
How it would be
Que hubiera sido de mí
What would have become of me
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
If I hadn't let you leave that day
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
To kiss your lips every morning
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
To be able to lose myself in your love every night
Por culpa del miedo o del abandono
Because of fear or abandonment
Sinceramente no sabía como
Honestly, I didn't know how
Apostar un beso contra la eternidad
To bet a kiss against eternity
Quizás soy la culpable de este destino
Maybe I'm the one to blame for this destiny
y sé que hoy no haría lo mismo
And I know that today, I wouldn't do the same thing
No te dejaría escapar
I wouldn't let you slip away
Soñar sin sentir dudas
To dream without feeling doubts
Respirar sin desesperación
To breathe without desperation
Jamás preguntar quizás
To never ask 'what if'
Cómo sería
How it would be
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OLGA MARIA CHIRINO, SORAYA LAMILLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marybel Rojas
Quizás no fue el tiempo ni fue el momento
No tiene lógica el argumento
A veces la vida es así
Tan cerca estuvimos alma con alma
Tu piel con mi piel quemó toda la calma
Aún no pudimos concebir
Que el hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo sería
Por culpa del miedo o del abandono
Sinceramente no sabía como
Apostar un beso contra la eternidad
Quizás soy la culpable de este destino
y sé que hoy no haría lo mismo
No te dejaría escapar
El hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo seria
Soñar sin sentir dudas
Cómo sería
Respirar sin desesperación
Cómo sería
Jamás preguntar quizás
Cómo sería
😍🥰
Melina Mango
Letras
Quizás no fue el tiempo ni fue el momento
No tiene lógica el argumento
A veces la vida es así
Tan cerca estuvimos alma con alma
Tu piel con mi piel quemó toda la calma
Aún no pudimos concebir
Que el hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo sería
Por culpa del miedo o del abandono
Sinceramente no sabía como
Apostar un beso contra la eternidad
Quizás soy la culpable de este destino
y sé que hoy no haría lo mismo
No te dejaría escapar
El hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro
Fue el error que viviré para siempre
Cómo sería
Que hubiera sido de mí
Si ese día no te hubiera dejado partir
Cómo sería
Besar tus labios cada amanecer
Poder perderme cada noche en tu querer
Cómo seria
Soñar sin sentir dudas
Cómo sería
Respirar sin desesperación
Cómo sería
Jamás preguntar quizás
Cómo sería
Matteo Rueda
Es una puñalada al corazón está hermosa canción. Se nota la resignación y tristeza por ya saber su destino y me parte el corazón, no puedo evitar soltar unas lágrimas... Una excelente artista se fue tan pronto aunque gracias a Dios pudo dejarnos sus hermosas canciones para recordarla por siempre 😔😔😔😔😨
Basilia González
🤨
J Luis Gomez
Igual
Pilar Roca Suarez
Lo que escribiste,la cancion y su carita de ella me hizo llorar .😭😭💔 un abrazo al cielo Soraya querida .
Jaime Crespo B.
Siento que Soraya sabia que este video era como una despedida. Es demasiado emotivo. Y este video fue grabado en Chile
Victor Vidal
@Myriam Gallardo dios te bendiga y te cuiden mis angeles guerrera .....................
maria eugenia perez ochoa
Se grabó a dónde navío neruda algo asi
Brayan Duran
@Myriam Gallardo . Felicidades, pero en estos primeros 5 años debes estar bajo monitoreo constante, seguir tu tratamiento de recuperación al pie de la letra, y tu que ya tuviste la enfermedad hacerte chequeos cada 3 meses, para prevenir la recidiva. 5uerte y abrazos.
Mujer, casos de la vida real en linea.
@Alb De hecho se cree que este tema lo dejó para su ex marido, del que se quiso divorciar en la época de su cáncer.
Alb
La letra más allá de hablar de una relación, siento que también tocaba el tema de su enfermedad “el hecho de no actuar y no abrazar lo que era nuestro.. es el error que viviré para siempre” Pff 🥲