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 Olga
Tañon
Olga Tañon was born into a working
class family in Puerto Rico and expressed
a passion for music and dance early in her
childhood. She started singing at the age
of eight in her church choir, but shyness
prevented her from performing in public
until she was 19 years old.
As a young woman, Tañon sang with
Las Nenas de Ringo y Josie and then with
an all-girl group known as Chantell, eventually
gaining the confidence she needed to launch
her solo career in 1991. Her vocal prowess,
energy, beauty, and ability to perform a
range of musical styles from pop and rock
to merengue and salsa endeared her to an
international audience, who lovingly bestowed
upon her the title “Queen of Merengue.”
Success came quickly for Olga as her first
album, Sola (1992), was certified
Gold, and her second, Mujer De Fuego
(1993) reached double Platinum soon after
their respective releases. Olga has performed
to sell out crowds at the legendary Apollo
Theatre, Waldorf Astoria and Radio City
Music Hall in New York; Nexstage at Grand
Prairie and Bass Performance Hall in Texas;
the Teatro Tercsa Carreno in Caracas, Venezuela;
Teatro Anayansi in Panama City, Panama;
Islas Canarias, Tenerife, Spain; and the
Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Hiram Bithorn
Stadium and the Performing Arts Center in
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Olga has collaborated with the some of
the hottest songwriting and production talent
in the Latin music community, including
Rudy Perez, Marco Antonio Solis and Kike
Santander. The fruits yielded by these partnerships
have met with an abundance of critical praise
and two Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy, 11
Premio Lo Nuestro Awards, a Ritmo Latino
Music Award, and Billboard Music and Humanitarian
Awards.
Like all great artists, Olga possesses
a natural gift – a wealth of empathy,
imagination and emotional expression that
enables her to live inside of songs, and
through her personal interpretations, make
those songs her own. ASCAP is proud to celebrate
Olga Tañon and honor her contribution
to Latin music by presenting her with the
Latin Heritage Award.
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