Sharon la Hechicera (Sharon the Sorceress), also known by the nicknames La Reina de la Tecnocumbia, La Diva, and La Diva Criolla (born Edith Rosario Bermeo Cisneros; 28 March 1974 – 4 January 2015), was an Ecuadorian television actress, presenter, music producer, advertising and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

consultant, lingerie designer, and singer known for her promotion and performing of the

tecnocumbia Tecnocumbia is a style of Cumbia where there is a fusion between electronic sounds generated by electronic musical instruments through electronic drums, the electric guitar, synthesisers, and samplers. "Tecnocumbia" was a word developed in Mexi ...

genre. She was one of the most popular celebrities in Ecuador during her lifetime. Bermeo was able to become an icon of

Ecuadorian culture The majority of Ecuador's population is descended from a mixture of both European and Amerindian ancestry. The other 10% of Ecuador's population originate east of the Atlantic Ocean, predominantly from Spain, Italy, Lebanon, France and Germany. A ...

internationally. Over the course of her career, she released five studio albums.

Early life and education

Sharon la Hechicera was born Edith Rosario Bermeo Cisneros in

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

on 28 March 1974, but she spent her childhood in the city of Durán. Her nickname at home was "Charo" or "Charito," but it morphed into "Sharon" as the pronunciation of the letter n at the end of either was added and gradually became more prominent. Bermeo took to calling herself Sharon Bermeo, but chose to take the stage name "Sharon la Hechicera," or "Sharon the Sorceress," in reference to her favorite TV show, the American sitcom '' Bewitched''. From a young age, Bermeo took an interest in music. At eight years of age, she won an inter-school festival with her performances of the songs '' Fox incaico'' and ''Los Andes''. She was also selected to be a starting member of the

C.S. Emelec Club Sport Emelec is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional association football, football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in th ...

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

's football team. Bermeo studied

Communication sciences Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in different ...

at the

University of Guayaquil The University of Guayaquil (Spanish: ''Universidad de Guayaquil''), known colloquially as the ''Estatal'' (i.e., "the State niversity), is a public university in Guayaquil, Guayas Province, Ecuador. Estatal was founded in 1883. It is the old ...

's Faculty of Social Communication for five years, providing for herself by working as a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

assistant teacher or selling .

Career

During her university studies, Bermeo imagined herself as La Hechicera and dreamed of a music career as the character, but her mother forbade it. However, with the money Bermeo had saved, she was able to record and release her first album, ''Corazon Valiente'' (''Fearless Heart''), in 1998. Before this, she was a member of ''Los Sorceras'', an opera group, but decided to go solo. Bermeo would be one of the pioneers of the technocumbia genre and created its dress style, experimenting with the high boots and short skirts that would be adopted by all other technocumbia groups within

and abroad. In 2003, Bermeo released the album ''Hechizo latino'' (''Latin spell''), recorded in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and containing the themes of the

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

'' La Hechicera'' under the label. Two years later she released ''Ragga con La Hechicera'' (''Raggae with The Sorceress''), becoming the first solo

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

musician in Ecuador, then created the technocumbia group Leche y Chocolate in 2005 as well. In 2010, she released the single ''Poco a poco'' (''Piece by piece'').

Notes

Citations

{{authority control 1974 births 2015 deaths 21st-century Ecuadorian women singers 20th-century Ecuadorian women singers Ecuadorian television actresses Ecuadorian telenovela actresses Ecuadorian women television presenters People from Guayaquil People from Durán, Ecuador Women in Latin music