Nydia Caro
Encyclopedia
Nydia Caro is an American & Puerto Rican
actress and singer. Born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico
, she initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. After completing high school she enrolled in the New York School of Performing Arts in singing, dancing, and acting classes.
television show. In 1967, shortly after her father died, she moved to Puerto Rico and released her first album
titled Dimelo tu. She has released 20 internationally acclaimed albums and CDs ever since. Caro enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico
in literature to enhance her Spanish skills. Nevertheless, she was hired immediately to co-host a popular teen show by channel 2
("Show Coca Cola").
The decade of the 1970s was very successful for Nydia Caro. In 1970, she won the "Festival de la Canción" in Ibagué
Colombia
, with the songs "Hermano tengo frío", composed by Karmen Mercado, the niece of famed actor and astrologer
Walter Mercado
, and "Pongo el Mundo en las Manos de un Niño" composed by the late Raoul Gonzalez.
In 1972, she went to Tokyo, Japan, where she sang La Borinqueña
before the world Heavyweight boxing
championship fight between George Foreman
and Jose Roman
. Ring En Español
remarked that her singing of the Puerto Rican national anthem probably lasted longer than the fight itself.
In 1973, she won one of the first awards in the prestigious "Festival de Benidorm
" in Valencia
, Spain, with the song "Vete Ya", composed by Julio Iglesias
for her.
In 1974, she won the equally prestigious Festival OTI in Mexico, with the song "Hoy canto por cantar". The song, composed by Caro and Riccardo Cerratto, caused some controversy in Puerto Rico for being the "anti-protest" song in that decade. Despite that, the song helped Caro further extend her popularity built on prior hit songs such as "Cuéntale", "Duerme", "Charly", "Copos de nieve" and "No Pudo Ser".
Caro married Spanish producer Gabriel Suau and they had two children, Christian (currently a film director) and Gabriela. The couple divorced after a few years of marriage, but remains on good terms. During her marriage, she continued her professional singing career, releasing over 20 albums to date.
She also hosted her own television program, El Show de Nydia Caro on Puerto Rican television. Moreover, her reputation was helped by strong concert performances in prestigious venues; such as, Club Caribe and Club Tropicoro in San Juan, Carnegie Hall
, the Lincoln Center in New York and many others around the world in countries throughout South America, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Japan. Besides Puerto Rico, Caro's relevance as a cultural icon is strongest in Chile
, a country in which she has performed regularly since her 1974 appearance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival
. She has appeared in Chilean telenovela
s and has spent regular seasons living in the country.
In 1998, Caro released her album "De amores luminosos" to critical acclaim. The album was produced by the renowned Chilean producer Joakin Bello. It features musical themes such as the song "Buscando Mis Amores", from the poems of Santa Teresa de Jesus
, Fray Luis de León
and San Juan de la Cruz
. It blendes musical instruments native to distant countries; such as, Tibet and India, together with instruments from Puerto Rico and South America. The effort sets her apart from other artists in Puerto Rico, as the first exponent of "alternative" or "new age" music, and was named as one of the 20 best recordings in 1999 by Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular in Puerto Rico.
Caro has a reputation for her lasting beauty, her complexion has very few expression lines and gives the general public the impression of her not aging with time (Caro became a grandmother in 2004). She claims she has had no plastic surgery and affirms her lasting youthful appearance is a result of minimizing exposure to sun as much as possible. At one time she was the spokesperson for Oil of Olay products in Puerto Rico.
Caro also has a reputation for being "classy", or elegantly sophisticated. She parodied this image by appearing in an advertisement campaign run by the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico
, where she reportedly sells her house to Puerto Rican rapper Tego Calderón
, the contrast in their public images played upon for comic effect. Another Puerto Rican rapper, Residente from Calle 13
, remarks about Caro's lasting sex appeal (rather graphically) on the band's song "La Era de la Copiaera" ("The Age of -Copycat- Copying").
In 2000, she made her Hollywood debut, playing "Isabelle" in Under Suspicion
, starring Gene Hackman
and Morgan Freeman
.
Alternate discography:
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
actress and singer. Born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Rincón is a municipality of Puerto Rico founded in 1771 by Don Luis de Añasco . It is located in the Western Coastal Valley, west of Añasco and Aguada. Rincón is spread over 8 wards and Rincón Pueblo...
, she initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York. After completing high school she enrolled in the New York School of Performing Arts in singing, dancing, and acting classes.
Biography
Caro made her debut in show business acting at an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television show. In 1967, shortly after her father died, she moved to Puerto Rico and released her first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
titled Dimelo tu. She has released 20 internationally acclaimed albums and CDs ever since. Caro enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
in literature to enhance her Spanish skills. Nevertheless, she was hired immediately to co-host a popular teen show by channel 2
Telemundo Puerto Rico
The name Telemundo Puerto Rico may represent:* WKAQ-TV, a Telemundo station in San Juan, Puerto Rico* Telemundo Puerto Rico , a former Spanish-language cable network...
("Show Coca Cola").
The decade of the 1970s was very successful for Nydia Caro. In 1970, she won the "Festival de la Canción" in Ibagué
Ibagué
Ibagué is the capital of the department of Tolima in Colombia. It is situated 1,285 m above sea level, on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Central between the Chipalo and Combeima rivers, tributaries of the Coello River...
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, with the songs "Hermano tengo frío", composed by Karmen Mercado, the niece of famed actor and astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
Walter Mercado
Walter Mercado
Walter Mercado , is a Puerto Rican astrologer. Mercado announced that he and Univision have parted ways after fifteen years.-Early years:...
, and "Pongo el Mundo en las Manos de un Niño" composed by the late Raoul Gonzalez.
In 1972, she went to Tokyo, Japan, where she sang La Borinqueña
La Borinqueña
La Borinqueña is the official anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. After Puerto Rico became the "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, signed law #2 of July 24, 1952 that stated that the musical composition known as "La Borinqueña" was to...
before the world Heavyweight boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
championship fight between George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
and Jose Roman
Jose King Roman
José "King" Roman is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was Puerto Rico's regional heavyweight champion. He is better known as "Joe King Roman."-Pro career:...
. Ring En Español
Ring En Español
The Ring En Español was a Spanish version of boxing publication The Ring magazine. Ring En Español was published from 1977 to 1985. Originally published from Caracas, it moved in 1981 to Miami, to Editorial America , the same editorial house that oversaw the production of Cosmopolitans Spanish...
remarked that her singing of the Puerto Rican national anthem probably lasted longer than the fight itself.
In 1973, she won one of the first awards in the prestigious "Festival de Benidorm
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....
" in Valencia
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
, Spain, with the song "Vete Ya", composed by Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
for her.
In 1974, she won the equally prestigious Festival OTI in Mexico, with the song "Hoy canto por cantar". The song, composed by Caro and Riccardo Cerratto, caused some controversy in Puerto Rico for being the "anti-protest" song in that decade. Despite that, the song helped Caro further extend her popularity built on prior hit songs such as "Cuéntale", "Duerme", "Charly", "Copos de nieve" and "No Pudo Ser".
Caro married Spanish producer Gabriel Suau and they had two children, Christian (currently a film director) and Gabriela. The couple divorced after a few years of marriage, but remains on good terms. During her marriage, she continued her professional singing career, releasing over 20 albums to date.
She also hosted her own television program, El Show de Nydia Caro on Puerto Rican television. Moreover, her reputation was helped by strong concert performances in prestigious venues; such as, Club Caribe and Club Tropicoro in San Juan, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, the Lincoln Center in New York and many others around the world in countries throughout South America, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Japan. Besides Puerto Rico, Caro's relevance as a cultural icon is strongest in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, a country in which she has performed regularly since her 1974 appearance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival
Viña del Mar International Song Festival
The Viña del Mar International Song Festival is a music festival held annually during February since 1960 in Viña del Mar, Chile. It is considered the most important musical event in Latin America....
. She has appeared in Chilean telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
s and has spent regular seasons living in the country.
In 1998, Caro released her album "De amores luminosos" to critical acclaim. The album was produced by the renowned Chilean producer Joakin Bello. It features musical themes such as the song "Buscando Mis Amores", from the poems of Santa Teresa de Jesus
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
, Fray Luis de León
Luis Ponce de León
Fray Luis Ponce de León was a Spanish lyric poet, Augustinian friar and theologian and academic, active during the Spanish Golden Age.-Early life:...
and San Juan de la Cruz
John of the Cross
John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....
. It blendes musical instruments native to distant countries; such as, Tibet and India, together with instruments from Puerto Rico and South America. The effort sets her apart from other artists in Puerto Rico, as the first exponent of "alternative" or "new age" music, and was named as one of the 20 best recordings in 1999 by Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular in Puerto Rico.
Caro has a reputation for her lasting beauty, her complexion has very few expression lines and gives the general public the impression of her not aging with time (Caro became a grandmother in 2004). She claims she has had no plastic surgery and affirms her lasting youthful appearance is a result of minimizing exposure to sun as much as possible. At one time she was the spokesperson for Oil of Olay products in Puerto Rico.
Caro also has a reputation for being "classy", or elegantly sophisticated. She parodied this image by appearing in an advertisement campaign run by the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico
Popular, Inc.
Popular, Inc., is a financial services conglomerate that has been operating in Puerto Rico for almost 115 years and in the United States for over 52 years. In recent years, it has expanded into other areas of the Caribbean and Central America. It is better known as Banco Popular, but it is also...
, where she reportedly sells her house to Puerto Rican rapper Tego Calderón
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...
, the contrast in their public images played upon for comic effect. Another Puerto Rican rapper, Residente from Calle 13
Calle 13 (band)
Calle 13 is a band formed by stepbrothers René Pérez Joglar , who calls himself Residente and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez , who calls himself Visitante Calle 13 is a band formed by stepbrothers René Pérez Joglar (born February 23, 1978 in Hato Rey, a subsection of San Juan, Puerto Rico), who calls...
, remarks about Caro's lasting sex appeal (rather graphically) on the band's song "La Era de la Copiaera" ("The Age of -Copycat- Copying").
In 2000, she made her Hollywood debut, playing "Isabelle" in Under Suspicion
Under Suspicion (2000 film)
Under Suspicion is a 2000 American film directed by Stephen Hopkins. It stars Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Monica Bellucci and Thomas Jane. The film is based on the 1981 French film Garde à vue and the 1970s British novel Brainwash, written by John Wainwright...
, starring Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
and Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
.
Discography
- Bienvenidos (2003)
- Las noches de Nydia (2003)
- De amores luminosos (1998)
- Para valientes nada mas (1991)
- Hija de la Luna (1988)
- Soledad (1985)
- Papa de domingo (1984)
- Preparate (1983)
- Intimidades (1982)
- A quien vas a seducir (1979)
- Isadora/Keep On Movin' (1978)
- Arlequin (1978)
- Oye guitarra mia (1977)
- El amor entre tu y yo (1977)
- Palabras de amor (1976)
- Contigo fui mujer (1975)
- Hoy canto por cantar (1974)
- Volumen Dos (1974)
- Cuentale (1973)
- Volumen Uno (1973)
- Hermano tengo frio (1970)
- Los durisimos y yo (1968)
- Dimelo tu (1967)
- Ask me What I Want for Christmas (1966).
Alternate discography:
- Ocho puertas (2003)
- Al compas de un sentimiento, Asi canta Puerto Rico (1991)
- Somos el projimo/Aristada puertorriquena (1985)
- Cantare, cantaras/Hermanos del Tercer Mundo (1985)
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- French immigration to Puerto RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....