Puerto Rican Samuel Hernández is a best-selling, award-winning singer of Christian music who, in his home country, has crossed over from success in religious music to the secular marketplace. He gives concerts throughout his homeland, and central and South America, and he runs his own ministry in the United States. His devotion to visiting the poor, the sick, and prisoners is well documented.rnHernandez was born in 1972 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Though he began playing guitar at a young age, music was not his first vocational choice. He attended Universidad Metropolitana and received a baccalaureate in accounting and marketing, graduating summa cum laude with a grade point average of 4.0. He began his professional career as an insurance agent, where he was awarded numerous times by trade agencies for his successes. Always a deeply spiritual person, he decided to leave his occupation and begin working for God as a singer.rnIn 1993, as part of el Grupo Ozem (made up of his many extended family members), he released Un Sueño Hecho Realidad. His first solo recording, Soy una Vasija Nueva, was issued in 1997 and was the kickoff point for his ministry. It was a hit with Christian radio broadcasters and he toured it in Central and South America, as well as in Florida in the U.S. His 2000 album, Falta 5 Para las 12 Llegó Jesús, was number one at Christian radio for 20 straight weeks, and remained number one in sales for a full year after release. After incessant touring, he hurriedly entered a studio in late 2003 and issued Jesús Siempre Llega a Tiempo. The album entered the Christian radio and sales charts at number one, won him an industry Dove Award, a Latin Grammy nomination, and was among the first best-selling Christian albums in Puerto Rico. He was the first singer of Puerto Rican religious music to be nominated for the Billboard Prize in the category of Disc of the Year in the Sacred Music category. The album also won the Prize Paloma de la Paz and a host of other industry prizes. In 2005, he released the best-selling concert offering En Vivo Desde el Centro de Bellas Artes de Puerto Rico, which was issued in three separate deluxe editions, all of which went gold. That year, Hernandez won four awards from People Latino magazine. In 2006, he issued his most successful album, Dios Siempre Tiene el Control, which contained a whopping 15 songs and more than 74 minutes of music. Produced by Kilo Cibrian, Milton Sesenton, and Kevin Lebron, and mixed by Orlando Rodriguez, the album employed the best local and international musicians and included live strings. Its first single, "Si le Crees a Dios," produced two videos, one for the Latin market and one for the Anglo one. It was the recipient of two Latin Grammys.rnIn 2009, his debut for Universal Music Latino appeared. Entitled Por Si No Hay Mañana, it was issued during a tour which culminated at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum with Marcos Witt. The album was followed with another live collection, En Vivo Desde la Sala de Festivales: Del Centro, the following year. After a short break, Hernandez returned to the studio and emerged with 2012's Inyección de Fe, which spent six weeks at number one. He celebrated his 20-year anniversary in the music business with a hits collection in 2013 and thereafter devoted himself to his ministry, playing concerts, giving guest sermons, and immersing himself in charity work. He issued Me Conecta al Cielo in 2015, a collection of duets with other Christian music stars in 2016 that included appearances by Jaime Barcelo, Benjamin Rivera, Melody Joy, and Funky. The following year saw the release of Gracias Señor en Vivo, which featured guest appearances by Zammy Peterson, Adlan Cruz, and Raquel Vega. ~ Thom Jurek