Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), known professionally as Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican singer and actor. He has released 21 albums and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
As an actor, Chayanne participated in two Puerto Rican telenovelas broadcast by the WAPA-TV television station in the 80s. These were Sombras del Pasado with Daniel Lugo and Alba Nydia Díaz, and Tormento with Lugo and Yazmin Pereira.
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Biography
Early life
Figueroa Arce's nickname "Chayanne" was given to him by his mother, in honor of his love for the 1950s American television series, Cheyenne.
Career with Los Chicos
In the late 1970s, he auditioned for famed Puerto Rican group Menudo, but the producers told him that he was too young to be a member. He joined another group, Los Chicos, and they produced several hit recordings, including "Puerto Rico Son Los Chicos" and "Ave Maria". Los Chicos toured all over Latin America and became a major rival to Menudo when Chayanne was a member.
Solo artist
After Los Chicos separated in 1984, Chayanne began his career as a solo artist. He signed with RCA Víctor and released his debut album, Es mi Nombre, that year. His second album with RCA Víctor, Sangre Latina, was released in 1986.
After three years with RCA Víctor, Chayanne switched labels to Sony Music and broke out with his first self-titled album in 1987. This album featured a blend of ballads and dance tracks, a combination for which Chayanne would become famous. The album featured two hit songs, the ballad "Peligro de Amor", written by Michael Sullivan and Paulo Massadas, and a song that would cement him as an overall performer, the upbeat dance track "Fiesta en América", written by Honorio Herrero.
On 1 November 1988, Chayanne released his second self-titled album, Chayanne. This album featured several hit singles, including Herrero's "Tu Pirata Soy Yo", José María Cano's "Fuiste un Trozo de Hielo en la Escarcha", and "Este Ritmo Se Baila Así", composed by Pierre-Edouard Decimus and Jacob Desvarieux, both members of Guadeloupean band Kassav', and Roberto Livi. At the same time, Chayanne became a spokesperson for Pepsi, with the airing of the first Spanish-speaking advertising spot broadcast on U.S. national television, coast to coast, during the 1989 Grammy Awards telecast.
On August 7, 1990, he released the album Tiempo de Vals, featuring some of his best-selling singles, such as the title track (composed by José María Cano), "Completamente Enamorados" (by Piero Cassano, Adelio Cogliati, and Eros Ramazzotti), and "Daría Cualquier Cosa", composed by Luis Gómez-Escolar and Julio Seijas. Chayanne followed this with an album and title track that would eventually become his signature song, Provócame (1992). The album also featured the hit "El Centro de mi Corazón" (#1 U.S. Hot Latin, 1992), which was nominated for Pop Song of the Year at the Lo Nuestro Awards of 1993, while Chayanne was nominated for Best Male Pop Artist. Two years later, he released the covers album Influencias (1994), which was a tribute to some of his musical influences. In 1996, he released Volver a Nacer.
In 1998, he received his second Grammy nomination with the album Atado a Tu Amor, which featured his first number-one hit since 1992, "Dejaría Todo", as well as a long-lasting hit in the title track. The hot streak continued in 2000, when Chayanne released Simplemente and the top-ten hit "Candela" and the number-one hit "Yo Te Amo". On March 19, 2002, he released Grandes Éxitos, a greatest-hits album with a few new tracks. One of those new tracks, "Y Tú Te Vas", was the number-one song of the summer for 2002, and went on to be the theme song for Venezuelan telenovela Todo sobre Camila, produced by Venevisión. The following year, Chayanne released Sincero, which featured two number-one songs, "Un Siglo Sin Ti" and "Cuidarte el Alma".
Acting career
In the 1980s, Chayanne participated in several soap operas and starred in the comedy series Generaciones with Luis Antonio Rivera. In 1994 he played himself in Volver a empezar along with Yuri. That same year, he also starred in Linda Sara opposite former Miss Universe, Dayanara Torres. The film was written and directed by famous Puerto Rican filmmaker Jacobo Morales. In 1998, he starred in his first Hollywood role, playing a Cuban dancer along with Vanessa L. Williams in Dance with Me. He also made a guest appearance on Ally McBeal. In the next few years he worked in other projects like the Argentine soap opera Provócame, for which he made the soundtrack of the same name.
In 2008, Chayanne played the title role (of a vampire) on the television series Gabriel: Amor Inmortal. To familiarize himself with the concept he adopted a different daily schedule, sleeping during the day and working at night. He noted that the production wanted to "make things look as real as possible", but that the adaptation process was difficult. The series debuted on September 28, 2008, on Mega TV.
He voiced Flynn Rider in Tangled (2010) for the Latin-American Spanish dubbing.
Personal life
He is married to Marilisa Maronesse and their children are son Lorenzo and daughter Isadora. The family lives in Miami Beach, Florida. Chayanne's daughter Isadora is a singer who was nominated in the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards Best New Artist category. He is the uncle of Venezuelan singer Lele Pons.
Filmography
Discography
Studio albums
