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.
Eclipse
Soraya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soy la luna que se duerme esperando por el sol
Aunque somos diferentes
Puede más nuestra atracción cuando estamos juntos
Somos dos planetas siempre en rotación
Que cuando se encuentran no controlan la pasión
Cuando estamos cuerpo a cuerpo
Escapamos tú y yo fuera de este mundo
Y en nuestra habitación nos descontrolamos
Empieza la reacción cuando nos besamos
Y tu deseo y el mío se juntan
Llegan alineados creando
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Cuando los dos estamos juntos somos un único universo
Y tú me marcas siempre el rumbo
Para llegar a donde están tus besos
Tú sabes lo que sientes mirándome de frente
El mundo se detiene y ya no hay más
Tus ojos no me mienten
Inevitablemente, lo nuestro no es pura casualidad
Y en nuestra habitación nos descontrolamos
Empieza la reacción cuando nos besamos
Y tu deseo y el mío se juntan
Llegan alineados creando
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Y en nuestra habitación nos descontrolamos
Empieza la reacción cuando nos besamos
Y tu deseo y el mío se juntan
Llegan alineados creando
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Un eclipse
Soraya's song "Eclipse" is a beautiful love song that describes the metaphorical relationship between two lovers as the sun and the moon. The first verse describes the differences between the lovers, comparing them to the day and the night. Soraya herself is the moon awaiting the arrival of the sun, her lover. Despite their differences, their attraction is too strong to ignore, and they're always rotating around each other like two planets in space. When they come together, they can't control the passion they feel. It's like an eclipse, an event that happens when the sun and the moon align perfectly.
The chorus of the song describes the physical effects of their love, how their desire for each other grows until it's out of control. When they kiss, their desires combine, creating an eclipse that blots out everything else in the world. They become one with each other, forming a unique universe in which they can escape from everything else. The second verse describes how the man leads the woman towards his kisses, guiding her to where he wants her to be. Together they create an unstoppable force that transcends the laws of physics and time. It's the kind of love that is fated to be, that can't be ignored, and will last forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Como el día y la noche, así somos tú y yo
We're like day and night, you and me.
Soy la luna que se duerme esperando por el sol
I'm the moon who sleeps, waiting for the sun.
Aunque somos diferentes
Although we're different.
Puede más nuestra atracción cuando estamos juntos
Our attraction is stronger when we're together.
Somos dos planetas siempre en rotación
We're two planets always rotating.
Que cuando se encuentran no controlan la pasión
That when they meet, they can't control the passion.
Cuando estamos cuerpo a cuerpo
When we're body to body.
Escapamos tú y yo fuera de este mundo
You and I escape out of this world.
Y tu deseo y el mío se juntan
And your desire and mine come together.
Llegan alineados creando
They align, creating...
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Cuando los dos estamos juntos somos un único universo
When we're together, we're a single universe.
Y tú me marcas siempre el rumbo
And you always guide me.
Para llegar a donde están tus besos
To get where your kisses are.
Tú sabes lo que sientes mirándome de frente
You know what you feel when you look at me.
El mundo se detiene y ya no hay más
The world stops and there's nothing else.
Tus ojos no me mienten
Your eyes don't lie to me.
Inevitablemente, lo nuestro no es pura casualidad
Inevitably, what we have isn't pure chance.
Y en nuestra habitación nos descontrolamos
And in our room, we lose control.
Empieza la reacción cuando nos besamos
The reaction starts when we kiss.
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Un eclipse
An eclipse.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Santiago Hernandez, Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Николай Христенко
Я полюбил Сорайю, СПАСИБО.
Soraya Arnelas Fans
Maravilla de canción, me encanta!!! la mejor manera para abrir el álbum 'Luces y sombras'
Esperanza Bravo
Q linda cancion, q hermoso cantas. Desde Bogotá Colombia un abrazo
Eduardo Rojas
Que maravilla de acústico ❤️
Ariel Olivares
Es una belleza musical estooo, necesitamos un disco en esta linea, medios tiempos electrónicos, alucinaría con un disco así de Sorayaaaa :)
Uve Maya
Uno de los temazos de Luces y Sombras 😍
Maria Jose Garcia Heras
Eres fantástica.....no cambies
Enhorabuena 👏
Lidia Peris Gallego
Q bonita me encanta , cuanto significado tiene la letra de la canción para mi ❤️💯
Erick Perret Gentil
Excelente . Que hermosa melodía . . Desde Colombia solo admiración al trabajo de Soraya .
Mari Carmen Guillen
Maravillosa esta mujer 🥰😍