Oro Solido is a New York–based merengue group. Oro Solido has sold several albums, reaching household name status. Their music has even been featured on film as well as being played on tropical music stations since 1995.
Early beginnings
Oro Solido, a Dominican band founded in 1993 was formed by Raul Acosta, who has received the nickname 'El Presidente'. Acosta was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on September 8, 1971. Born into a musical family, at the age of seven, he and his older brothers Iván and Rafael, in addition to local neighborhood kids, started a pre-adolescent music group called "Los Sobrinos Del Rey" a Dominican attempt version of the Jackson 5. With this early experience, Raul was able to develop his musical talent as well as his stage presence. The group went on to perform in two nationally televised shows on the government TV station, channel four, for a show called "Amarillis con los Niños.” At 9 years old, the family relocated to the United States. With no English skills, Raul moved to
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Union City where the Hispanic culture was growing stronger.
Upon graduating from Emerson High School, Raúl began his studies in music and sound engineering by joining Kennedy's Music World, a local music studio, school, and store, where he met a teacher named Kennedy Cortina. Kennedy taught him just about everything he knows, and planted the seed of music in his mind. There he worked retail and operated the music studio as well as helped students in their classes. In 1990, after graduating high school, he held different positions within the Hudson County government.
Rise to stardom
In 1994, Acosta formed the merengue band Oro Sólido. That same year, he released his self-titled debut album, 'Oro Sólido'.
He continued to release albums approximately every year after that. With hits like "Ta Cache," "La Tanguita Roja," "Maria se Fue," "El Baile del Beeper," "Una Nalgadita," "La Morena," among others, Oro Sólido, positioned itself as one of the biggest Latin music groups in the world. They have surpassed various barriers when it comes to performing in the Anglo media and having their music played on English-speaking radio stations. Raul Acosta has been nominated for and won numerous awards throughout the years, including Premios Estrella, Premios ACE and Premios Lo Nuestro.
The group has performed regularly on some of Hispanic TV’s most distinguished and popular TV shows. Oro Sólido was also the first merengue band to perform on Fox 5 News New York and the ''
Jerry Lewis Telethon
The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded in ...
''. Also, he performed on the inauguration of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's second term in the Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.
The group has also performed five times in
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
as well as other famous arenas like the Universal City Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the Zócalo square in Mexico City,
Estadio Modelo
Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer, also known as just Estadio Modelo, is a multi-purpose stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), association football matches and it sometimes hosts games of Rocafuerte Fútbo ...
50 Cent
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,
LeAnn Rimes
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,
Celia Cruz
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
,
Marc Anthony
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Fat Joe
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Wilfrido Vargas
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, Tito Puente, El Gran Combo and The Temptations.
Currently, Raul Acosta and Oro Solido are celebrating their 20th anniversary and are touring across the United States, Central, and South America. At present, Raul Acosta resides with his band in Miami, Florida, with other band members Angel Suriña and Raymond Aponte.
Philanthropy
Oro Sólido also does benefit work with different organizations which include World Vision,
March of Dimes
March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...
, the
Wheelchair Foundation
The Wheelchair Foundation (WF) is a non-profit organization founded in June 2000 by real estate developer Ken Behring, and based in Danville, California. The foundation partners with donors (individuals, groups and companies) to provide wheelch ...
Oro Sólido is affiliated to companies such as Supercanal Caribe, a growing Latin cable station in the U.S. and Dominican Republic. The group has also launched their own Oro Sólido Long Distance Phone Card.
Discography
*''Oro Solido'' (1994)
*''Y Sigue el Cache'' (1995)
*''Internacional'' (1996)
*''El Poder de New York'' (1997)
*''El Presidente del Merengue'' (1998)
*''5th Anniversario'' (1999)
*''Best of the Best'' (2000)
*''Planeta Solido'' (2002)
*''Party Time, Pt. 1'' (2004)
*''Fantasia Urbana'' (2008)
*''Merenguefit'' (2011)
*''El Pum (Single)'' (2014)
*''El Congreso del Merengue'' (2015)
*''En Vivo Desde Miami'' (2017)
*''Live From NY'' (2017)
*''Live From Santiago Dominican Republic'' (2017)
*''Live! From Washington Heights'' (2017)
*''Solid Gold'' (2019)
*''YO No Me Caso'' (2020)
*''Electronic Dance Reggae'' (2020)
*''Festival En La Calle 8'' (2020)