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Hector Lavoe Biography

Héctor Lavoe

(Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez; Ponce, 1946-New York, 1993) Puerto Rican singer and composer, considered one of the best Caribbean music performers of all time and a pioneer in the introduction of New York salsa in the early 1970s.He was part of the mythical orchestra of the trombonist Willie Colón and was known by the nickname of El Cantante de los Cantantes.

Héctor Lavoe

Héctor Lavoe grew up listening to the popular music of his native island and to singers such as Chuíto el de Bayamón and Daniel Santos, el Inquieto Anacobero, faithful representatives of the jíbaro style that so influenced his music.In 1963 he emigrated to New York, where he made a living singing in venues and bands in the Latin Quarter of the Bronx, until in 1967 his career took a considerable turn when he joined the group led by Willie Colón.

It was a very fortunate association, since Lavoe's strident and nasal voice found in the sound of the trombones a perfect accompaniment to capture a new Latin musical rhythm, a precursor of what later became known as urban salsa or New York and that conveyed all the flavor of the neighborhood.With the eloquent name of El Malo , Colón and Lavoe recorded their first album together, which was followed by Guisando , La Gran Fuga , Lo Kill , The Trial and the two highly acclaimed volumes of Christmas Assaults .

Although in 1974 Lavoe embarked on a solo career with the album La Voz , Willie Colón continued to collaborate as a producer and arranger on some of his best albums and, along with other prominent artists Puerto Ricans such as Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Rivera and Luis Perico Ortiz, both were part of the group of salsa stars brought together by the Fania company in the early seventies, which also welcomed figures such as Celia Cruz or Tito Puente.Lavoe and Colón recorded very notable works for the Fania label, among others Crime Pays (1972), The Good , the Bad and the Ugly ( 1975) or It depends on you (1976); the latter included one of his most famous songs: yesterday's newspaper , composed by maestro Tite Curet Alonso.

In 1978 he published Comedia , considered by many his best record work, which achieved great popularity thanks to the song El Cantante , composed by Ruben Blades; later he edited Juanito Alimaña (1983), a classic in the vein of Pedro Navaja.

Charismatic character and with a talent and personality beyond any doubt, however, he allowed himself to be dragged into a life of debauchery that could hardly have a good ending: thus, the continued consumption of drugs over many years seriously undermined his health, which together with the tragic death of his son led in 1988 to a suicide attempt that left him unable to continue acting.

Since then he has been retired in New York, although the same year of his death a last album was released, Héctor Lavoe&Van Lester: The Master and the Protege .Besides those already mentioned, he made famous songs like The Almighty ; Calle Luna , Calle Sol ; Sweetness Paradise ; Sad and Empty ; The Truth ; Juana Peña or A love of the street .His hectic personal and professional life was taken in 1999 to a play produced by Pablo Cabrera and David Maldonado.

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