Childhood Surprise
Ednita was born April 11, 1955 in Ponce, Puerto Rico to Domingo and Gudelia Nazario. She has two older brothers (Tito and Alberto) and a younger brother (Pancho). 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, 1961, 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 Alfred D. 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 6, Ednita recorded her first song: a Spanish version of "My Boy Lollipop".
[edit] Teen Success
After some presentations, Ednita started alongside the late singer and later photographer: José Manuel, and Frankie Sabath, in a band created by Tony Morales called The Kids From Ponce. The group played at numerous major hotel chains and television networks. The group achieved local success and were requested for various TV shows. However, the group broke up after some time and the three of them became soloists. Ednita, then 17, was offered to star in her own prime-time TV variety show: El Show de Ednita, broadcast by Telemundo Puerto Rico, and produced by Paquito Cordero. During this time she also won the "Miss Puerto Rico Teenage Pageant".
In 1973, then 18, she finally released her first album called Al Fin...Ednita. The album spawned a #1 Hit: Te Quiero y No Me Importa (I Love You But I Don't Care), and also brought her awards as "New Artist of the Year". With her TV show, Ednita became Puerto Rico's hottest 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. José Ferrer was so charmed by Ednita's presence that he designed a nightclub act for both of them.
José 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, they were even booked to sing at the Hyatt Hotel in Canada. At this time, she was even requested by Monaco's Royal Family to perform at the famous casino of Monte Carlo three times.
[edit] Rising Star
In the late 70s, Ednita participated in the OTI Festival as a singer with the song "Cadenas de Fuego", and in 1980 as a songwriter with the song: Contigo, Mujer (With you, my Woman), co-written by her husband then, Laureano Brizuela, an Argentine singer and composer.. The latter song, performed by Rafael José, won the #1 prize of the festival. She also gained notoriety for her performance in a duet with Laureano Brizuela, of the theme song of the successful Puerto Rican telenovela: Coralito: Mi Pequeño Amor (My Little Love), also composed by Brizuela.
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.
[edit] Ednita in the 90s
In 1989, Ednita released Fuerza De Gravedad (Force of Gravity). 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 "Lo Que Son Las Cosas" in 1991 included a Spanish version of a song made famous by Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The album also contained other compositions her ex-husband, fellow singer and songwriter Luis Angel, also from Argentina.
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, following Yolandita Monge's record of 12 consecutive shows.
In 1994, Nazario released one of her most acclaimed albums to date: Pasiones (Passions).
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 broadcast via Internet.
In 1998 she was cast for the lead role in Paul Simon's Broadway musical, The Capeman, sharing the stage with fellow Latin stars like Rubén Blades and Marc Anthony. This musical closed shortly after.
[edit] 1999-present
In 1999, Ednita resurged in music, with Corazón. The album, produced and directed by Dräco 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 (Off Limits), 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 (Unplugged Vol 1 & 2). 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.
In December 2007, Ednita released her new album "Real" produced by renowned producer Armando Avila (La 5ª Estación) and Graeme Pleeth (Sonique). The album was recorded between London, Nashville, Mexico City and Miami and debuted at #1 in Billboard's Top Latin Albums and Top Latin Pop Albums, selling about 18,067 in one week. On July 2, 2008, Nazario filmed the video for "No" along Natalia Jiménez of La 5ª Estación.[1] Nazario was one of several artists selected to perform in "KQ Live Concert" on September 27, 2008, organized by KQ 105 FM, the event included several renowned artists from Puerto Rico and other Latin American locations.[2]
[edit] Personal life
Ednita has been married three times. First to Laureano Brizuela, during the late 70s to the early 80s. In 1987 she married Luis Angel, with whom she had her first and only daughter, 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 Bonnet, who is not involved in show business, and have remained married. On October 2, 2008, a street in Ponce was renamed in her honor.[3]
[edit] Discography See Ednita Nazario DiscographyDate of Release Title Label 1973 Al Fin...Ednita Mardi Grass 1976 Me Está Gustando Borinquen Records 1976 Nueva Navidad Borinquen Records 1977 Vete Vete... Borinquen Records 1978 Mujer Sola Borinquen Records 1979 Retrato De Mujer Pronto Records 1982 Ednita Padosa Records 1983 Al Rojo Vivo Padosa Records 1986 Tú Sin Mí Melody International 1989 Fuerza de Gravedad Fonovisa 1991 Lo Que Son Las Cosas Capitol Records EMI Latin 1992 Metamorfosis EMI Latin 1994 Live EMI Latin 1994 Pasiones EMI Latin 1996 Espíritu Libre EMI Latin 1999 Corazón EMI Latin 2001 Sin Límite Sony Music 2002 Acústico Sony Music 2002 Acústico Vol. II Sony Music 2003 Por Tí Sony Music 2005 Apasionada Sony Music 2006 Apasionada Live Sony BMG 2007 Real Sony BMG 2008 Real... En Vivo Sony BMG
[edit] Videography 1994 "Ednita Nazario... Live" 2004 "Viva La Diva" 2004 "Acústico" 2006 "Apasionada Live" 2008 "Real... En Vivo"
[edit] See also List of famous Puerto Ricans
