# Jon Secada
**Jon Secada** (born Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez, 1962, in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter who became one of the first bilingual artists to achieve international crossover success, with major hits in both English and Spanish in the early 1990s.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) His debut album *Jon Secada* (1992) sold over six million copies worldwide, was certified triple platinum in the United States, and produced the top five Billboard Hot 100 single "Just Another Day"; its Spanish-language counterpart, *Otro Día Más Sin Verte*, was Billboard's number one Latin album of 1992 and won him his first Grammy Award.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/jon-secada/17384/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez, 1962, Havana, Cuba; some sources give 1961[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada) • [4](https://www.musica.com/jon-secada/biografia) |
| Grammy record | 2 wins and 3 nominations per the Recording Academy (Best Latin Pop Album 1993 for *Otro Día Más Sin Verte*; Best Latin Pop Performance 1996 for *Amor*); his own biography cites three Grammys including a Latin Grammy[2](https://www.grammy.com/artists/jon-secada/17384/) • [1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) |
| Sales | Over 20 million albums sold across a career of more than three decades[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) |
| Signature hits | "Just Another Day" (No. 5 on the Hot 100), "Angel", "Do You Believe in Us", "If You Go"[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) |
| Education | Bachelor's in music (1983) and master's in jazz vocal performance, cum laude (1986), University of Miami[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) |
| Songwriting | Co-wrote Gloria Estefan's No. 1 "Coming Out of the Dark" and Ricky Martin's No. 1 "She's All I Ever Had"[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) |
## Early life and education
Secada was born in Havana to Jose Secada, a black Cuban, and Victoria, a Cuban mother; the family immigrated to the United States in 1971 and settled in Miami, joining hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada) In a 1992 interview he described the move as a political one, saying "I left when I was 8 with my parents and moved to Miami," and that entering Cuba to perform would be dangerous for him.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-01-ca-1390-story.html) He grew up in [Hialeah, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/hialeah-florida), absorbing the city's mix of R&B, rock, and Latin music, with influences he named as [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder), Earth, Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel, and [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john).[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada)
**Musical training.** After graduating from Hialeah High School in 1979, he attended the [University of Miami](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-miami), receiving a bachelor's degree in music in 1983 and a master's degree in jazz vocal performance, cum laude, in 1986; he was later inducted into the university's Iron Arrow Honor Society. During this period he worked in nightclubs, did voiceovers, and wrote jingles.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) After graduating he taught music at a local community college before being hired as a backup singer for [Gloria Estefan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloria-estefan).[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada)
## The Estefan connection
Secada met [Emilio Estefan](https://www.edgepedia.org/emilio-estefan), Gloria Estefan's husband and manager, in the late 1980s; Emilio hired him as a songwriter and became his manager and mentor.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada) Secada co-wrote six songs on Gloria Estefan's *Into the Light* (1991), including her Billboard No. 1 "Coming Out of the Dark", written after the bus accident that had nearly ended her career.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm0005407/bio/) In 1990 Estefan invited him to join the *Into the Light* world tour, giving him a solo spot in which he performed "Always Something", a song that later appeared on his debut album; a multimillion-dollar contract with SBK Records followed.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada) • [1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/)
Secada acknowledged how much that exposure mattered: "Without that connection I'd probably be still banging on doors looking for a record deal," though detractors sometimes called him "Jon Estefan" for riding her coattails.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-01-ca-1390-story.html)
## The 1992 breakthrough
The self-titled debut *Jon Secada*, produced by Emilio Estefan, was released in 1992 on SBK/EMI. It sold over six million copies worldwide, went triple platinum in the United States, and reached No. 15 on Billboard's pop album chart; SBK said the album was a hit in 20 countries.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-12-ca-3362-story.html)
**The Spanish version.** Six months after the English album, Secada released *Otro Día Más Sin Verte*, the Spanish-language counterpart, which he described as an unplanned experiment suggested by his manager; it became the number one Latin album of 1992, produced four consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart, and won the 1993 [Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-best-latin-pop-album).[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-12-ca-3362-story.html) Three more top 20 Billboard hits came from that album: "Angel", "I'm Free", and "Do You Believe in Us".[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) Secada later reflected that he was proud to have been part of the early-1990s crossover movement alongside Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, and [Julio Iglesias](https://www.edgepedia.org/julio-iglesias).[8](https://www.excelsior.com.mx/Periodico/flip-funcion/20-04-2012/portada.pdf)
## Later albums and songwriting
His second English album, *Heart, Soul and a Voice* (1994), went platinum and produced another top 10 hit, "If You Go"; deliberately leaning into R&B, it drew on his Afro-Cuban heritage and his admiration for [Earth, Wind & Fire](https://www.edgepedia.org/earth-wind-and-fire). The third album, *Amor* (1995), a Spanish-language set of [Nat King Cole](https://www.edgepedia.org/nat-king-cole)-style balladry, won him his second Grammy, for Best Latin Pop Performance, at the 1996 ceremony.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-29-ca-41441-story.html)
Following the comparatively weak sales of *Secada* (1997), he signed with [Epic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epic-records), a [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music) imprint, and began by penning songs for fellow artists on the label, [Ricky Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-martin) and Jennifer Lopez.[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jon-secada-mn0000258882) For Ricky Martin he wrote the No. 1 hit "She's All I Ever Had" ("Bella" in Spanish), his first collaboration with producer-songwriter Rudy Perez; he also co-wrote and co-produced songs for Mandy Moore and Alejandro Fernández. He recorded duets with Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Olivia Newton-John, and Jim Brickman, and contributed to soundtracks including *Dance with Me*, Disney's *Pocahontas*, and *The Specialist*.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/)
A steady stream of albums followed: *Better Part of Me* (2000), *The Gift* (2001), the Latin collection *Amanecer* (2002), *Same Dream* (2005), *Expressions* (2009), and *Otra Vez* (2011), his seventh Spanish-language album.[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jon-secada-mn0000258882) • [1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) In 2017 he returned to the stage with *...To Beny Moré With Love*, a tribute produced by Julio Bagué in which he re-recorded ten of the Cuban icon's classics with the Charlie Sepulveda Big Band, arranged by Ray Santos; a later project with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba reinvented Nat King Cole's Spanish-language classics.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [11](https://es.rollingstone.com/el-viaje-musical-de-jon-secada/)
## Personal life and public work
Secada married Maritere in 1997, whom he met after she choreographed Gloria Estefan's "Buen Amor" video; their children are Mikaela Nina (born 1999) and Jon Henri (born 2002).[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) His humanitarian work, channeled through Jon Secada Charities, has supported Hispanic Americans, children, education, AIDS research, and child-abuse prevention; he created the Jon Secada Music Scholarship at the University of Miami and was named Humanitarian of the Year in 2016 by the Muhammad Ali Foundation.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [12](https://www.paho.org/es/campeones-salud/jon-secada) He has also served as a celebrity judge on *Latin American Idol* for its entire four-season run and published a memoir, *A New Day*.[1](https://jonsecada.com/bio/) • [13](https://jonsecada.com/)
## References
1. [Biography, Jon Secada official site](https://jonsecada.com/bio/)
2. [Jon Secada Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/jon-secada/17384/)
3. [Secada, Jon, Contemporary Musicians via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/jon-secada)
4. [Biografía de Jon Secada, Musica.com](https://www.musica.com/jon-secada/biografia)
5. [JON SECADA: Coming Out of the Dark Through Estefan Connection, Los Angeles Times, November 1, 1992](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-01-ca-1390-story.html)
6. [Jon Secada – Biografía, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es-es/name/nm0005407/bio/)
7. [POP MUSIC: Mr. Melting Pot, Los Angeles Times, June 12, 1994](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-12-ca-3362-story.html)
8. [Hoy llega a la pantalla, Excélsior, April 20, 2012](https://www.excelsior.com.mx/Periodico/flip-funcion/20-04-2012/portada.pdf)
9. [Secada, Estefan Top the List as Voters Go Conservative, Los Angeles Times, February 29, 1996](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-29-ca-41441-story.html)
10. [Jon Secada – Biography, Discography & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jon-secada-mn0000258882)
11. [El viaje musical de Jon Secada, Rolling Stone en Español](https://es.rollingstone.com/el-viaje-musical-de-jon-secada/)
12. [Jon Secada, Campeones de Salud, Organización Panamericana de la Salud](https://www.paho.org/es/campeones-salud/jon-secada)
13. [Home, Jon Secada official site](https://jonsecada.com/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Latin American and Caribbean scenes › Latin pop, balada, and rock en espanol (including Spain) › Artists, groups, and people: Latin pop, balada, and rock en espanol (including Spain) › Classic and modern romantic ballads*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license