Susana Silfa (Susana Mercedes Silfa Finke) is a Dominican singer, songwriter and actress from Santo Domingo. Born on 26 August, she has worked across bolero, jazz and bachata; she also recorded bachata as Mariita, «La Reina del Amargue».

Training and early work

She entered the «Conservatorio Nacional de Música» at thirteen and sang in its choir. After further vocal studies, she began working professionally with hotel and cruise-ship bands in 1984. Guitar has remained part of both her performances and her teaching.

The Mariita years

In 1992 she launched the bachata project Mariita, «La Reina del Amargue». Apple Music dates her twelve-track album «Bachata Amargue», issued by «Jose Luis Records», to 1994; «Centro León» documents that it includes songs she wrote. Her recording «Te quiero más que a nadie» later appeared on a compilation from the label. In 2017 she was a guest of honor at the Música, Identidad y Cultura en el Caribe congress devoted to bachata and appeared at «Centro León»'s «Pioneros de la Bachata» concert.

Poetry set to music

In the early 2000s she developed «Solfa y Tinta» with poet Marivell Contreras, setting literary texts to music. The project included a stage adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez's «Cien años de soledad» in 2014 and a musical presentation of «El viento frío» by René del Risco Bermúdez at the 2017 International Book Fair. In 2012 she performed «Hoy existiré», based on a poem by Lourdes Batista for a campaign against violence toward women. «Solo Para Locos», a collection of poems by diaspora writers set to music, appeared in 2017.

Broadcasting, theater and teaching

In the early 2000s she worked on the program «Aquí Yaqui» with Yaqui Núñez del Risco. By 2010 she was hosting «Salud, Dinero y Amor» on «Studio 88 FM». She also served on the jury of the television talent show «Buscando el Éxito» and founded «Voice Gym», where she teaches vocal technique and introductory guitar. Her documented stage acting includes «Aroma de Casablanca» (2014).

Bolero and jazz

Since 2001 she has performed bolero and jazz in bars, theaters and concert halls. Her show «Cuando el bolero es jazz» played at «Casa de Teatro» in 2008 and 2015 and reached «Centro León» in 2018, combining bolero, jazz and bossa nova. Under her own name she released the singles «Se fue» in 2011 and «Agradecida» in 2021.

Legacy

Silfa's career connects two strands of Dominican song: the bachata she recorded as Mariita and her jazz-inflected bolero performances. Her work with poetry, broadcasting and vocal training broadens a career that remains active on stage.