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.
Tu y Yo
Soraya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you and I, I thought we'd never fade away
I revealed my innocence, I put my trust in you
you vowed never to leave, gave your word that you'd be true
but I find myself sitting here alone
trying to remember who I was before our love
all the memories, all the future dreams
it's never been more clear, things aren't always what they seem
Tu y yo
You and I was all I ever knew
everything I had got its breath from you
you used to whisper I was the one, that with me your life had begun
everything you questioned was gone
while all the time you had your eye on
how to plan this harsh good-bye
start again with somebody new
Tu y yo
I know that you played me for a fool
I fear what I gave is gone for good
I hope I can still believe in spite of you
Tu y yo
In Soraya's song "Tu Y Yo" (You and I), she reflects on a past relationship that she thought would never fade away. She expresses that she put her innocence and trust in her partner, who promised to stay true and never leave. However, as she sits alone, she realizes that things aren't always what they seem. She reflects on all the memories and future dreams that they had together but now that relationship has ended, she finds herself trying to remember who she was before their love took over.
The chorus of the song "Tu Y Yo" repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the idea of "you and I". Soraya reveals that everything she had got its breath from her partner - it was all she ever knew. He used to whisper to her that she was the one, and that with her his life had begun. However, as time went on, he was planning a harsh goodbye and to start a new life with somebody else. Soraya comes to the realization that he played her for a fool, and she fears that what she gave him is gone for good. Despite this, she hopes that she can still believe in love, in spite of what he did to her.
Overall, "Tu Y Yo" is a song about the end of a relationship and the pain of betrayal. It highlights the idea that sometimes things aren't always what they seem, and that even when we put our trust in someone, they can still hurt us. Despite this, Soraya's lyrics also express the hope that we can still believe in love and that we can move on from heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu y Yo, three words I thought I'd always say
I believed that you and I would always be together, but now I am uncertain.
you and I, I thought we'd never fade away
I believed that we had a strong and unbreakable bond that would always be present, but now it seems like that bond has weakened or disappeared entirely.
I revealed my innocence, I put my trust in you
I opened up and trusted you completely, believing that you would never harm me or betray me.
you vowed never to leave, gave your word that you'd be true
You promised to never leave me and to always be honest with me, but now I am left alone and uncertain about everything.
but I find myself sitting here alone
I am alone now, without you by my side, and I am trying to understand how we got here.
trying to remember who I was before our love
I am struggling to remember who I was before I met you, before my sense of self became so entwined with our relationship.
all the memories, all the future dreams
Looking back, I remember all the good times we had together, and I realize that all our future plans are now uncertain or unreachable.
it's never been more clear, things aren't always what they seem
I have come to the realization that things are not always as they appear, that sometimes what we believe to be true can turn out to be false or inaccurate.
You used to whisper I was the one, that with me your life had begun
You used to tell me that I was the most important person in your life, that being with me made everything better and gave your life meaning.
everything you questioned was gone
You seemed to have no doubts or hesitations about our relationship, but now I realize that you were probably hiding your true feelings.
while all the time you had your eye on
I now understand that while you were with me, you were also looking for something else, something that I could not provide.
how to plan this harsh good-bye
You were planning to leave me all along, and you were preparing yourself for the inevitable end of our relationship.
start again with somebody new
You were looking for a fresh start, someone new to be with, and you were willing to leave me behind in order to find that new beginning.
I know that you played me for a fool
I now realize that you were deceiving me, making me believe that everything was okay when it was not, and that you were ultimately using me for your own purposes.
I fear what I gave is gone for good
I am afraid that everything I gave to our relationship - my trust, my love, my time - is now lost forever, and that I will never be able to recover it.
I hope I can still believe in spite of you
Despite everything that has happened, I still want to believe in love and trust, and I hope that I can find a way to do so even after being hurt by you.
Contributed by Christian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.