Maggie Merino was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Cuban mother and a Philippine father. She grew up in Miami, with a fusion of cultures and language and music. She started writing songs at the age of 13.
Latin Pop along with female singer-songwriters such as Amy Grant, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Shakira have been her greatest influences. Keeping in mind that Latin Pop includes such diverse genre’s as Juan Luis Guerra’'s pulsing merengue and Ricardo Montaner'’s soaring ballads, she prefers to define her own personal style as AC Latin Modern Pop. Shania Twain meets Alejandro Sanz.
Her music is a celebration of her joy and relentless enthusiasm for life as well as a reflection of the strength it takes to overcome the pain of the struggles every day life imposes on all of us. She sings simple songs of love and faith with that sweet sparkle of a girl whose dream comes true with every note.
Bio
Once upon a time…………… ...Maggie Merino was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Cuban mother and a Philippine father. When she was 5 years old her mother, now divorced, moved from Lakewood, New Jersey to Miami, Florida. In Miami, Maggie grew up with a fusion of cultures and language and music. She embraced her Latin heritage and started writing songs in Spanish at the age of 13.
As a teenager she used to go the library every weekend and read Billboard magazine to learn about the music industry. She was already intimately familiar with the art and soul. She wanted to know the mechanics of how everything worked and so she would spend hours reading about the different charts, genres, radio formats, writers, and artists. They once did a special issue on Diane Warren and she became an avid fan. When she first heard Leann Rimes “How do I live” she knew it was a Warren song even before she ran to the records store to read the credits!
The Fun to deep ratio …...Latin Pop along with female singer-songwriters such as Amy Grant, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Shakira have been her greatest influences. Keeping in mind that Latin Pop includes such diverse genre’s as Juan Luis Guerra’'s pulsing merengue and Ricardo Montaner'’s soaring ballads, she prefers to define her own personal style as AC Latin Modern Pop. Shania Twain meets Alejandro Sanz.
Her music is a celebration of her joy and relentless enthusiasm for life as well as a reflection of the strength it takes to overcome the pain of the struggles every day life imposes on all of us. She sings simple songs of love and faith with that sweet sparkle of a girl whose dream comes true with every note.
Diva in Training …...After two years of college, she got a job as a receptionist in a law firm and kept writing songs. Working at the firm she learned how hard work, persistence and determination could impact her life and her music career. She worked her way from receptionist to become the training director for the firm and travel the country coordinating the opening and operations of new offices. She continued to study the music industry and decided to do what any executive would do with a promising new artist. She put herself in development.
She began taking voice lessons with Carlos Almenar Otero. Otero, who has sung all over the world, was one of the judges of venezuela’' s version of” Star Search, Cuanto vale el Show, for over 20 years.
Then, like any other artist in development, Maggie decided she needed to start recording demos and define her signature sound. While she is still developing as a singer, she has continued to develop her songwriting skills, and loves the excitment of finding just the right rhyme or adapting a beautiful idea to the parameters of pop music.
Having a strong work ethic, the mind of a businesswoman and the soul of an artist, she is delighted to have most of her support team in place, and she is now looking forward to beginning the next exciting stage of her musical career as a songwriter and artist.