SORAYA

Soraya (full name Soraya Raquel Lamilla Cuevas) was born on March 11, 1969 in Point Pleasant,
New Jersey. She was a Lebanese-Colombian-American singer, songwriter, guitarist, arranger and
record producer.

Soraya first became interested in music at age 5 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 12 years old when her mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer, 18 when her
mother had a recurrence, and 22 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 the household
chores. She would also accompany her mother to the doctor's office; together they did breast-
cancer research and participated in the Race for the Cure.

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 dreadful disease. Soraya was diagnosed with breast cancer, the
disease that took the life of her mother, her grandmother, and an aunt.

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.

Soraya has been a Singer and composer, she has won several Latin Grammy prizes as the best
composer since 2004.

Soraya has been a student English literature, French, philosophy at Rutgers University in New
Jersey. She has been the Latin Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer Foundation.

She has been become very successful and brave woman for several years, also she’s always felt
self-confident.