Soldanela Rivera was born in Puerto Rico.  Moving to New York in 1990, she attended Sarah Lawrence College, receiving a BFA with a concentration in dance, and in 2005 received an M.A. in arts administration from Columbia University.

As a dancer, Soldanela performed with Elizabeth Streb Ringside Inc., and choreographed the video for Ricky Martin's Maria.  Moving into theater, she played Spider Woman in Murray Mednick's The Coyote Cycle; various characters in the Off-Broadway hit Who Killed Hector Lavoe?; and for almost 10 years she has been working with the distinguished Bronx-based Puerto Rican theater company Pregones, with whom she traveled extensively throughout the United States.  She was part of Pregones's participation in The Exchange Project, an extended collaboration among otherwise unconnected groups which produced Promise of a Love Song, a much-praised show which connected the Junebug Productions theater company of New Orleans, Roadside Theater from Whitesburg, Kentucky, and the Puerto Rican company of Pregones.

Soldanela is the eldest daughter of the legendary Puerto Rican vocalist Danny Rivera and from childhood on she was surrounded by Puerto Rico's most talented and outspoken artists.  In an ongoing collaboration with childhood friend Paloma Suau, today one of Puerto Rico's most prominent and promising women directors, she has served as choreographer, dancer, and research director for Puerto Rico's yearly television documentary music television special, working on productions including Guitarra Mía, a tribute to Jose Feliciano; Raíces, about Puerto Rico's folkloric music and dances forms of bomba and plena; and 8 Puertas, a musical tribute to Puerto Rico's famous cabaret.

In 2007 Soldanela served as research consultant to Bernardo Ruiz (Quiet Pictures) for his PBS American Experience documentary, Clemente. The program won the 2008 NCLR ALMA Award® for Outstanding Made-for-Television Documentary.

In addition to her performance and research experience, Soldanela has worked extensively in production and marketing in the Latin music industry. For 15 years worked for, with and in partnership with Blanca Lasalle, founder of Creativelink, the Manhattan-based Latin production and public relations company, with a broad roster of clients including corporations, non-profit organizations, and well-known figures in Latin music.

She served as consultant/producer for CMN Events during the first year of development for Celia Cruz, The Musical which went on to play Off-Broadway at New World Stages.

In the last year she has traveled to and from Europe, Cuba, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico attending art conferences, learning about the film business and focusing her work doing publicity for films in her native Puerto Rico.

Soldanela was recently hired to oversee the new Hispanic Division for Falco Ink and is preparing to launch Alquimia Films, an initiative sponsored by the Puerto Rico Film Commission and founded by Roberto Busó-García, that will focus on seeking Puerto Rican screenwriters in the United States and beyond.

Soldanela lives in New York City.