Hector Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe (actually Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez ; born September 30, 1946 in Ponce , † June 29, 1993 in New York City , United States ) was a Puerto Rican composer and singer .
Life and music
Héctor Lavoe grew up in the San Antonio district of the Puerto Rican city of Ponce . He had been interested in music since his youth and was singing in a Puerto Rican group at the age of 14. At the age of 16 he went to New York to improve his future prospects and to make more of his talent.
The musician Johnny Pacheco became aware of Lavoe in New York . Initially, Lavoe only sang temporarily during performances. During this time Pacheco began recruiting musicians for his new Fania label. Pacheco introduced Lavoe to trombonist Willie Colón . Lavoe and Colon then worked together for eight years and recorded 10 albums. Lavoe and Colón combined salsa , traditional Afro-Caribbean music, cumbia , merengue and jazz . In the texts, Lavoe referred to almost every aspect of Afro-Caribbean culture and religion from Catholicism to Santería .
With the departure of Willie Colón , this group broke up and Héctor Lavoe began a solo career. Great successes during this time were, for example, Periódico de ayer and El cantante .
At the beginning of the 1980s his popularity declined and for Héctor Lavoe a period of tragedy and excess began. The murder of his mother-in-law, the death of his brother (in a car accident), the accidental death of his son and the break of his legs while jumping out of the window of his burning apartment in Queens were experiences that plunged him into severe depression, compounded by his drug addiction .
In 1988 he plunged himself from the ninth floor of the El Condado Hotel in Bayamón, Puerto Rico . He survived the fall, but was subsequently severely damaged by this incident. Due to his contract he was forced to give more concerts even in this condition.
The financial troubles he found himself in at the end of his career made his depression even worse, leading to his ultimate crash.
He died of AIDS on June 29, 1993 at Memorial Hospital in Queens , New York, and was buried in Saint Raymond Cemetery in Queens. Nine years later, as he had wished, his body was transferred to his native Ponce.
The life of Héctor Lavoe was filmed in 2006 under the title " El Cantante ". The main roles are played by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony .
Most famous songs
His most famous songs include El Cantante , Periodico De Ayer , Plato De Segunda Mesa , Che Che Cole , Rompe Saraguey , El Todo Poderoso , Mi Gente , Todo tiene su Final , Calle Luna, Calle Sol and El Rey de la Puntualidad .
Discography
- 1975 La Voz
- 1976 De Ti Depende
- 1978 Comedia
- 1979 Recordando a Felipe Pirela
- 1979 Feliz Navidad
- 1980 El Sabio
- 1981 Que Sentimiento
- 1983 Vigilante
- 1985 Reventó
- 1987 Strikes Back
- 1993 The Master & The Protegé with Van Lester
- Compilations
- 1980 Hector's Gold
- 1997 Fania All Stars with Héctor Lavoe
- 1997 En Vivo
- 2000 swings
- 2001 Tu Bien Lo Sabes
- together with Willie Colón
- 1967 El Malo
- 1968 The Hustler
- 1969 Guisando
- 1970 Cosa Nuestra
- 1971 Asalto Navideño Vol. 1
- 1971 La Gran Fuga
- 1972 El Juico
- 1972 Asalte Navideño Vol. 2
- 1973 Lo Mato
- 1975 The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lavoe, Héctor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Puerto Rican composer and singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ponce |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 29, 1993 |
| Place of death | New York City , United States |