Raul Acosta, better known in the music industry as "El Presidente del Merengue," was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on September 8, 1971. Born into a musical family, at the age of seven, he and his older brothers Iván and Rafael, in addition to local neighborhood kids, started a pre-adolescent music group called "Los Sobrinos Del Rey". This was the Dominican version of the Jackson 5. With this early experience, Raul was able to develop his musical talent as well as his stage presence. The group went on to perform in two nationally televised shows on the government TV station, channel four, for a show called "Amarillis con los Niños.” At 9 years old, the family relocated to the United States like every other immigrant family, to work hard and prosper. With no English skills, Raul moved to Jersey City, New Jersey to start his new life. Years later, he moved to Union City where the Hispanic culture was growing stronger. Upon graduating from high school, Raúl began his studies in music and sound engineering by joining Kennedy's Music World, a local music school. There he worked retail and operated the music studio as well as helped students in their classes. In 1990, after graduating high school, he held different positions within the Hudson County government. Finally, in 1994, he formed New York's hottest and most established merengue band, Oro Sólido. That same year, he released his self-titled debut album, Oro Sólido. To his amazement, it was the beginning of a long and exciting career that has spanned over 12 years and worldwide recognition. The albums came almost every year after that. With hits like "Ta Cache," "La Tanguita Roja," "Maria se Fue," "El Baile del Beeper," "Una Nalgadita," "La Morena," and many more, Oro Sólido, positioned itself as one of the biggest Latin music groups in the world. They have surpassed various barriers when it comes to performing in the Anglo media and having their music played on English-speaking radio stations. Raul Acosta has been nominated for and won numerous awards throughout the years, including Premios Estrella, Premios ACE y Premio Lo Nuestro, just to name a few. The group has performed regularly on some of Hispanic TV’s most distinguished and popular TV shows. Oro Sólido was also the first merengue band to perform on Fox 5 News New York and The Jerry Lewis Telethon. The group has also performed over 5 times in the renowned Madison Square Garden as well as other famous arenas like the Universal City Amphitheater in Los Angeles, El Zócalo de Mexico, Estadio Modelo de Ecuador, El Monumento in Dominican Republic and the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The group has shared the stage with artists such as 50 cent, Leann Rhymes, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, Fat Joe, Johnny Ventura, Wilfrido Vargas, Tito Puente, El Gran Combo and The Temptations, just to name a few. Keeping in mind their humanitarian spirit, Oro Sólido also does benefit work with different organizations like World Vision, March of Dimes, The Wheelchair Foundation, Health Plus, Verizon and the City of New York's Commission of Domestic Violence. Oro Sólido is also affiliated to companies such as Supercanal Caribe, a growing Latin cable station in the U.S. and Dominican Republic. Recently, the group launched their own Oro Sólido Phone Card, which proves that they are one of the biggest market shares in Latin music presentations worldwide, and one of the most promising acts to be able to knock on the door of U.S. mainstream markets. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.