Bailando, I wrote it in my bathroom. My father was a welder and was working nights. So, in order to not disturb him while he was sleeping during the day, I would isolate myself in the room that was the furthest away from his in the house. I love the echo from the bathroom, that inspired me.
On one side: Marisa, shy daughter of Spanish parents. On the other side: Marisa, a Latin sensuality in its natural state. Since she was a child, Marisa knew what she wanted to do: compose music, sing and make the people around her dance. Her father may have had something to do with that, because she lived her childhood with flamenco guitar, Iberic heat and crazy family reunions. Marisa started playing the guitar very young: she signed her first composition at 12 and at the time, she was listening nonstop to Mecano and Gloria Estefan. Her mother helped her as well: “She was a very skilled designer who was making wonderful costumes for me. Later, she was the one who designed my mini-shorts when I became famous. “
But as we said before, Marisa was, above all else, a shy little girl who knew how to mesmerize her audience every time she started singing. She remembers the long hours spent in the locker room after her gym class where she would sing Céline Dion’s Mon Ami m’a Quitté in front of her girlfriends. One day, her professors noticed her. Marisa had simply taken over a concrete platform in a park to create a performance stage all by herself. These singing breaks were so to speak her reason for living. So why not try and make a living with it?
When Marisa turned 17, her songs took a different turn. With two friends, the girls decided to participate in lip-sync contests. They actually won two competitions with Julie Piétry’s Eve Lève toi.
Two other friends then asked Marisa to come and dance with them on a new project Marisa Two other friends then asked Marisa to come and dance with them on a new project Marisa She started singing and that marked the beginning of everything. Demo, studio and two first singles: Vivre avec Toi and Love and Melody. The latter was sung on several occasions on stage and also in the TV show 10 Qu’on aime aired on the European TV channel, RTL. Marisa became more and more accustomed to the show and started presenting Bonito in the early 90s.
Things moved forward very fast for Marisa. She shot her first video clip in the prestigious Forest National. Marisa and Power people sang for a charity event (Song for Life) to support the wounded spirits from Ex-Yugoslavia.
Marisa continued to rise through her numerous performances in public. New producers discovered her thanks to the Belgium show 10 Qu’on aime. Their aim was to find a female singer for a parlando (speaking in Spanish on a musical piece). So Marisa listened to the instrumental and as usual, she could not help it but started singing and spicing it up her own way.
This track was soon to be heard by Radio Contact. The Belgium radio decided to make it its hit. Everything was set into motion: Un Clima Ideal was released on air in 1995… It became the summer hit.
Despite her success, Marisa remained simple and discrete. She needed to be isolated to find inspiration. Spending a day, a week, by herself, only seeking inspiration. And it was in her bathroom that she got the brilliant idea of Bailando. The idea that she would sell 5 million copies worldwide and more than Abba in Sweden could not be further from her mind! The song was also covered many times around the world. Everyone remembers the famous video clip of Bailando shot in Miami. Pink wig, atypical style, casual atmosphere… Marisa and her dancers sent an intense dynamic to the whole world. Awards, gold records and even platinum records!
In 1996, Vamos a la Discoteca invades the dance floor. Marisa continued to compose the songs that she would then sing. Bandolero and Paseo were also major successes. After being performed on Belgium and French TV shows (Dechavanne, Patrick Sébastien, Charlie et Lulu, Bon week-end, MCM, MTV,…), these hits started to make Europe move (number 1 in Italy, in Sweden, in Norway, in Denmark) followed by the music scene and dance floors all over the world (in Mexican Top 5).
Marisa went through the 90s at a hectic pace. She toured in the whole world for 4 years (former USSR, New York), still finding the time to defend Belgium in 1996 for the international festival Cerbul de Aur (The Golden Stag) in Brasov, Romania.
Award for the best foreign artist in 1998 (handed by DJ Albertino).
The same year, Marisa also received a special award in Russia (awarded by Radio XNT FM 107.4)
… And of course, the gold, double gold and platinum records!
– Gold record : Denmark / Luxembourg / Norway / Netherlands / Russia …
– Double gold record : Argentina / Belgium / Chile / Finland / France / Italy / Mexico / Venezuela …
– Platinum record : Germany / Sweden …
In 1999, Marisa leaves the band and continues her solo career. That is why in 2000, she met Patrick Hamilton and Peter Vanderhallen. With this last one, she started coproducing Copa de Champana and Chocolate Café, two songs that would only be released in Belgium.
The years 2000 would be a perfect occasion for her to improve her artistic talents and to reunite with relatives after spending several years on tour…
In 2002, Marisa met the love of her life. DJ Charley, also a skilled expert from the music sector, would prove to be a real driving force. They got married in 2008 and had the joy of becoming parents.
This is why Marisa is come back to the front of the stage with an absolutely free spirit and in family, for passion for music and for her fans.
These few years away from concert venues have not at all undermined her thirst for dancing and making people dance. Today, she invites you to join her in her unexpected world filled with colours and rhythms.
Hasta pronto…