Ian Blake

Who is Ian Blake?

Draco Cornelius Rosa Suárez, also known as Robi Draco Rosa, Draco Rosa or simply Draco, is an American-born Puerto Rican, multiple-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winning musician, singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet and entrepreneur.

Draco Rosa was born Robert Edward Rosa Suárez in Long Island, New York to Puerto Rican parents and was raised in Peñuelas and Ponce. He is fluent in Spanish, English, German, Japanese and Portuguese.

He originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s, singing lead on the band's biggest stateside hit, "Hold Me" and featuring prominently in the accompanying music video. After leaving the band he moved to Brazil where he released two albums, achieving mainstream success. Afterwards he moved to California and formed the band Maggie's Dream, which split after only one album, allowing him to resume his solo career. He has released numerous studio and experimental albums, and has composed multiple songs for Ednita Nazario, Julio Iglesias and former Menudo band-mate, Ricky Martin. He has also been featured on VH1's Behind the Music.

Rosa has been highly influenced by the works of Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Iggy Pop, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Luis Alberto Spinetta, The Doors, Camarón de la Isla, Caetano Veloso and Glenn Danzig. In 1996 he released the Latino alternative rock album Vagabundo produced by Phil Manzanera.