Roberto Orellana.

Roberto Orellana was born in Talcahuano, Chile, in 1965 and grew up between the folk music of his homeland and the church. He made his first recording, Levántate, in Argentina in 1989; two years later, now in Miami, he released Libertad.

In 1993 he settled in Puerto Rico and recorded Árbol sin raíces, the album where “Mi nuevo amor” appeared. It was followed by Vientos del sur (1994), with the charango and guitar of the Andes very present, and Entre mar y cordillera (1996). His repertoire sounded different from the rest: ballads with vallenato, Andean music, and Caribbean rhythms, sung with a tenor voice that needs no adornment.

Between 1999 and 2002 came Tierra del fuego, Fusión, and Mi Nuevo Amor, the album that earned him his 2002 Latin Grammy nomination in the first edition of the Best Christian Album category. That same year he published his first book, Tren al sur. In 2003 he recorded El Trío alongside Marcos Vidal and René González, and in 2004 and 2005 the Arpa Awards nominated his songs “El sándalo” and “Mi vida está llena de ti”.

Then came Esperando en ti (2004), Edición limitada (2006), Cantando en Navidad (2007), and Tengo Fe (2008), the album that put “Úngeme” on the radio in Miami and Puerto Rico; then Esperanza (2012), Colección de Oro (2013), and Alabanzas del ayer (2018).

His music has always moved between the ballad and Latin American rhythms, while remaining a church song: lyrics about forgiveness, coming home, and a hope that does not depend on success. Alongside his wife he leads a church in Lakeland, Florida, and through his foundation Lluvias de Amor he has brought food and aid to communities in Honduras and Cuba. In 2025 he released the single “Nombre Poderoso” and keeps singing the same thing as in 1993: that God is faithful.