Page 26 - International Salsa Magazine ED 85 Jan 2018.cdr

United States Of America / Singers & Groups www.salsamundi.com

At the age of 14, the interpreter born in During the 90s, Melina and other music
San Juan de Puerto Rico lived an experience professionals created the rst salsa
that marked her life since then. She moved orchestra in Memphis called "La Orquesta
with her mother to Memphis, Tennessee, Caliente". With this band toured places like
leaving behind her culture and family, Alanna, Kentucky and Alabama.
which caused an emotional shock and They played at such iconic venues as Beale
made her take full refuge in the music. Street, one of the most famous music
streets in all the US for almost 4 years, just
"Salsa saved my life." as they did at Young Ave Deli, a place that
lled to its maximum capacity just to hear
The Salsa is my way of them sing and play Salsa every Monday. In

life. It’s my way this regard, Melina told me: "That's when I
started singing Salsa. That's when I fell in
of breathing, of love with salsa and I wanted to continue
doing things ". being a professional Salsa singer.”

"We moved to a very white place to an In 2003, she began her musical career as an
extremely American place. The south of the independent soloist with her rst album
US is a very different place from New York Rumba's Salsa Soul Delight, where she
or Florida. There are not many Latin people exhibited her creative freedom to compose,
and for me it was very hard ... I started work with other people in the music
studying music at the High School. I got industry and create her own identity in this
into all the choirs that I could and all the tropical genre. So, her second álbum was
bands in the school where I could be", La Muñeca De La Salsa Y Más (2008) and
told me Melina. Pasión y Salsa Live in 2013.

This Puerto Rican composer not only
prepared in salsa, also studied different
musical styles: Blues, Jazz and Gospel. What
made her race for only 3 years at the
University of Memphis the career of Musical
Execution. Studies that she decided to
abandon for working at the same time as a
receptionist and translator for the City
Council and also to continue pursuing her
dream of singing Salsa professionally. "I
decided to quit my university studies
because I was really doing what I wanted
to do: that was to be a singer... I thought it
was better to leave school and nothing has
gone wrong, I have continued doing
everything at that moment, but on a
slightly larger scale and for me it was the
right decision", commented Amodóvar.

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