Born in the City of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Rafael Amaya began his journey to stardom. At an early age, he took a special interest in both theatre and music. Eager to share his talents with the world, he searched for work as an actor and musician, ultimately joining the music group Banda Almalafa. When the group eventually disbanded, Amaya took the opportunity to study at the Center for Arts Education Televisa (CEA) in Mexico City, which led to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to audition and then join the mega successful group Garibaldi. While he was a member, they recorded two well-known hits: Casado and Punto G. Following his musical ventures, Amaya focused his attention on his true calling: acting. He soon became a familiar face on several soap operas, including, “Sin Pecado Concebido” (Conceived Without Sin), a performance for which he was nominated for two of Mexico’s highest honors- an El Heraldo Award for the Male Revelation of the Year and a TV y Novelas Award for the same category.
His success continued as he worked on a string of hit soaps. Among them were “Salome” alongside heavyweights Guy Eckered and Edith Gonzalez, “Amar Otra Vez” (Loving Again) featuring Angelica Rivera, Valentino Lanus and Iran del Castillo and “Las Dos Caras de Ana” (The Two Faces Ana).
During this time, Amaya also began to segue into films, starring in “Desnudos” (Naked) with Karyme Lozano and “Así del Precipicio” alongside Ana de la Reguera and Gabriela Platas.
Ultimately, his passionate turn as a homosexual man in the latter film garnered him Mexico’s highest cinematographic honor, “La Diosa de Plata” (The Silver Goddess - awarded by Mexico’s Film Journalists) for Best Actor in a Movie Role.
Amaya’s rise to stardom only continued from there. He enjoyed working behind the scenes as a producer for the short film “El Descubrimiento” (The Discovery) and again on the feature “Pepe & Santo vs. America.” He stepped back in front of the camera in the highly rated Telemundo soap “Alguien Te Mira” (Someone’s Watching You) and then starred as El Gu¨ero Dávila opposite Kate del Castillo in the wildly anticipated “La Reina del Sur” (Queen of the South), based on Arturo Perez Reverte’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name. The series debuted as the highest rated soap in Telemundo’s history and maintained top ratings throughout its run.
Hot on the heels of these hits, Amaya had the honor of co-hosting the prestigious Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2011 and began to branch out internationally. In Spain, he took over the airwaves with two national TV series “Hospital Central,” a show that is best described as the “Grey’s Anatomy” of Spain and “Doctor Mateo.”
