Omar Enrique Alfanno Velásquez, better known as Omar Alfanno, is a Panamanian singer-songwriter of

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

who is most active in the

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

and merengue genres. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'' noted him as "one of Latin music's premiere songwriters and the man behind countless hits". He has composed for musicians like

Tony Vega Tony Vega Cesar, known professionally as Tony Vega (born July 13, 1957) is a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Early years Vega was born in the town of Salinas, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. He was born into a family of musi ...

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...

, Melina Leon,

Jerry Rivera Jerry Rivera (born Gerardo Rivera Rodríguez on July 31, 1973) is a Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter. Early years Rivera was born in Humacao, a town located on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. He moved with his family to Levittown in ...

Victor Manuelle The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...

, and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

. His most successful song, "

A Puro Dolor "A Puro Dolor" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican band Son by Four. It was written by Omar Alfanno and released as the first single of the second studio album of the band in 1999. Two versions of the track were produced by Oscar Llord for the a ...

" performed by the

Son by Four Son by Four is a latin music group from Puerto Rico, well known for their English U.S. pop hit " The Purest of Pain (A Puro Dolor)". The group is now independent, as they founded their own label SB4 Music Group in 2003. Son by Four was created b ...

, reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was awarded a Lo Nuestro Award, a ''Billboard'' Music Award, and a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

nomination in 2000. His song "Amores Como el Nuestro" — written for Jerry Rivera — was sampled by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

in the 2004 song "Dance Like This" which was later used for the 2006

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

hit "

Hips Don't Lie "Hips Don't Lie" is a Latin pop and reggaeton song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, featuring Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released by Epic Records in 2006 as the second single from the reissue of Shakira's seventh studio album, ''Oral Fixa ...

". "Amores Como el Nuestro" was also sampled by

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey, from The Bronx, New York. They are best known for their 1997 single "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", which reached th ...

in the 1998 song "

Deja Vu (Uptown Baby) "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)" is the debut single by American East Coast hip hop duo Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, released in December 1997 through Columbia Records from their debut studio album '' Make It Reign''. Produced by KNS, the song peaked at numb ...

". In April 2013, he performed with many of his collaborators at a concert in Panama.

Life

Alfanno was born January 4, 1957 in

Santiago de Veraguas Santiago de Veraguas () is the capital of the province of Veraguas, in the Republic of Panama, and the district or municipality of the same name. Located in the countryside next to the Pan American Highway. Bounded on the north by San Francisco Di ...

, Panama, and lives in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

today. He studied to be a dental surgeon in Mexico but his true passion was music. Once he graduated, he pursued a career as a singer making his professional debut in 1987 with the prestigious company

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. His first album in the salsa genre was titled ''Cosas de Barrio''. The next year he moved to Puerto Rico where he made the productions ''Joe de Barrio'' and ''Cuerpos al Calor''. In 1990, he signed a contract with CBS, where he recorded ''En Torno Al Amor'', his fourth and last album in his short but blooming career as a singer. His career as a composer started right there in Puerto Rico where artists such as Willie Colon,

, and

recorded songs by Alfanno which marked his career as a composer. He moved to Miami in 1993 where he decided to internationalize his music. A year later, he worked with

, where he recorded three songs for the album ''Todo A Su Tiempo''. After that, his career took off and he composed many hit songs. He also worked with

Víctor Manuelle Víctor Manuel Ruiz Velázquez (born September 27, 1968), known professionally as Víctor Manuelle, is an American salsa musician, known to his fans as ''El Sonero de la Juventud'' ("The Singer Of Youths"). He is identified primarily with '' ...

. Alfanno's success is credited with 16 gold records, 39 platinum discs which includes 9 double platinum, 4 triple platinum, 1 quadruple platinum and 3 quintuple platinum. He continues to compose with many other artists and continues to win awards that recognize his huge talent and success as a composer. Today, he is married to Carmen Alfanno and they have three children: Giancarlo, Gianna and Giovanna.

Discography

*''Cosas de Barrio'' (1987) *''Cuerpos al Calor'' (1988) *''En Torno al Amor'' (1991) *''Joe de Barrio''

Awards and nominations

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards

Alfanno has won the following ASCAP awards.ASCAP Awards: *1994 Awards: *1995 Awards: *1996 Awards: *2000 Awards: *2001 Awards: *2002 Awards: *2003 Awards: *2004 Awards: *2007 Awards: *2009 Awards: , - , rowspan="3" scope="row", 1994 , scope="row", Himself , Songwriters of the Year , , - , scope="row", "Que Hay de Malo" , rowspan="2" scope="row", Tropical Songs , , - , scope="row", "Sin Voluntad" , , - , rowspan="3" scope="row", 1995 , scope="row", Himself , Songwriter of the Year - Tropical , , - , scope="row", "Que Hay de Malo" , rowspan="4" scope="row", Tropical Songs , , - , scope="row", "Ella Es" , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 1996 , scope="row", "Te Conozco Bien" , , - , scope="row", "Si Tú Supieras" , , - , rowspan="2" scope="row", 2000 , scope="row", "Qué Habría Sido de Mi" , rowspan="2" scope="row", Salsa Songs , , - , scope="row", "No Sabes Como Duele" , , - , rowspan="8" scope="row", 2001 , scope="row", Himself , Composer of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" , "

" , Song of the Year , , - , Pop/Balada Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" , "Que Alguien Me Diga" , Salsa Song of the Year , , - , Pop/Balada Songs , , - , scope="row", "Si la Ves" , Salsa Songs , , - , rowspan="2" , "Cuando Una Mujer" , Pop/Balada Songs , , - , Merengue Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="5" scope="row", 2002 , scope="row", Himself , Composers of the Year , , - , "Me Da lo Mismo" , rowspan="2" , Salsa Songs , , - , rowspan="2" , "Pueden Decir" , , - , rowspan="2" , Pop/Balada Songs , , - , "Cuando Seas Mía (Miss Me So Bad)" , , - , 2003 , rowspan="2", "En Nombre de los Dos" , rowspan="2", Tropical Songs , , - , 2004 , , - , 2007 , "

" , Pop/Ballad Songs , , - , 2009 , "No Te Vayas" , Tropical Songs , , -

''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards

Alfanno has received the following ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards and nominations.''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards: *1999 Awards: *2000 Awards *2001 Awards: *2002 Awards , - , 1999 , Himself , Songwriter of the Year , , - , 2002 , Himself , Songwriter of the Year , , -

Latin Grammy Awards

Alfanno has received the following Latin Grammy nominations.Latin Grammy Awards: * 2000 Awards: * 2002 Awards: * 2016 Awards
"Latin Grammy Winners 2016: Complete List" billboard.com
2016-11-18. Retrieved 2017-06-11. , - , scope="row",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, scope="row", "A Puro Dolor" , rowspan="2" scope="row", Best Tropical Song , , - , scope="row",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, scope="row", "Pueden Decir" , , - , scope="row",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, scope="row", "Vine A Buscarte" , Best Tropical Song ,

References

External links

allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfanno, Omar 1957 births Panamanian songwriters Living people 21st-century Panamanian male singers 21st-century Panamanian singers Salsa musicians People from Santiago District, Veraguas Latin music songwriters 20th-century Panamanian male singers 20th-century Panamanian singers