Milly Quezada

Milagros Quezada (born May 21, c. 1955), much better known in the musical entertainment world as Milly Quezada, is a Latin Grammy winner Dominican Merengue music singer. She is a famous singer in Latin America; especially in those Latin American countries bordered by the Caribbean sea, and in the eastern seaboard region of the United States. Biography Milly Quezada was born in Santo Domingo, the daughter of two Cibao naturals and sister of four musician brothers. Growing up in such a musical family, Quezada became interested in music as a toddler—she would sing along with her brothers for family, friends and small gatherings near her home. She expressed an interest in developing her singing talents as a young girl, and, partly for this reason the Quezada family moved to New York City when she was still a child. Milly spent her pre-teen and teen years in New York, a city that is well known as a school for Merengue and Salsa singers from its Latino barrios, e.g. Spanish Harlem. In New York, Quezada developed an in-depth knowledge of her favorite musical genre, the fastest of the Latin American popular dance music styles, sung in Spanish and native to the Dominican Republic (see also Son Cubano, Rumba, Salsa, Cha-Cha-Cha, and Punta for comparison, as well as Kompa, the style sung in French in neighboring Haiti). Merengue has been comically referred to as "the Latino weight-loss program" since it is an infectious rhythm, and the songs tend to inspire adherents to enthusiastic dancing. After graduating from high school in New York, she attended New York City College, graduating with a university degree in Communications. During the 1980s, Quezada was the lead singer of a group named Milly y los Vecinos. The group enjoyed wild international success, producing 20 records, some of which were released in both vinyl and CD format, others only as CD's (as vinyl record album sales declined substantially by the end of the decade). Quezada later decided to embark on a solo career, moving to Puerto Rico where she also married and became a mother, enjoying even more success as a solo artist. Since the 1990s, Quezada has been either on tour or in recording studios almost constantly, earning several prestigious awards and public recognition such as keys to cities (see below). On May of 2005, she had a Dominican Republic tour that included one concert with the famed Conjunto Quisqueya. Quezada has publicly proclaimed her love for the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the United States.