You’re a singer?) He says yeah, I can sing. ?Tu eres cantante?” ( And I told him, “Come here. One day he asked me if he could sing with the band. I used to see this skinny kid sit by the bandstand and listen to the group. That’s when I started Pacheco y su Tumbao. I was working at the club Havana San Juan on Broadway and 139th Street. Johnny Pacheco remembers the first time he met Hector… Jose Mangual jr., Hector and Willie Colon in the 60’s. He wanted the stage name La Voz, however this was already Felipe ‘La Voz’ Rodriguez’s stage name, and he could not use it. Hector got the last name, Lavoe, from a manager. Amazed, after hearing Hector sing the song, they offered him a job as lead singer, which he accepted. Hector told the singer he was butchering it and he would show him how it was supposed to sound. Hector arrived to find that the singer, who was singing the bolero Tus Ojos, a song Lavoe later recorded, was singing off key. One day, a friend of Hector in New York, Roberto Garcia, who had recently started a band, and invited him to come see them perform. When he arrived in New York, he met up with his sister, Priscilla, and lived with her for a time. He feared the same would happen to Hector. Hector’s father was against him leaving because Hector’s older brother had gone to New York and died after getting involved in drugs. When Hector was 16 he left Puerto Rico to pursue a singing career. One teacher predicted he would become world famous with his voice. He was charismatic and drew attention whenever he came into a room. The teachers at the music school realized Hector had a remarkable talent with his voice. Febles plays a solo on his famous song, El Cantante. Papo Lucca was the opposite of Hector, always showing up for his lesson on time, while Hector hardly ever showed up for lessons. His classmates included two others that would later become famous musicians as well, Papo Lucca and Jose Febles. He was enrolled in the Juan Morel Campos Public School of Music, a free music school, by his father, as Hector at the time claimed he wanted to play trombone. Losing his mother at such a young age is something I think caused much of the sadness in his life. He later collaborated with Santos in the Jibaro Contreversia, ‘Joven contra Viejo’. Hector loved the music of Chuito de Bayamon and Daniel Santos in particular and would replicate their voices, spending hours listening to the radio. He supported the family of 8 children by working as musician, more specifically a guitarist. He had a musical family, his grandfather, Don Juan Martinez was a successful singer and his uncle was a Tres player. Hector Juan Perez Martinez was born in Barrio Machuelo Abajo, Ponce, Puerto Rico. I thank my father so much for instilling the love in me so young! Many songs still bring back memories of birthdays and New Years’ when I danced with my dad to Hector’s songs. A warmth and sweetness I couldn’t explain. When I was little I didn’t understand the lyrics and all of the songs seemed so happy, his voice always held a magic for me. After that I began to love Hector (and all salsa and latin music) more and more. He gave a long talking to on how Hector was Taino, like me and like him (Later on I heard his song ‘La Fama’ and he says ‘Soy Jibaro Taino (I am a Jibaro Taino’))and I had to listen to him and honor his music. I didn’t really want to hear salsa at that time at all. I remember when I was very young (4 or 5) I told my father that I didn’t want to hear Hector. He was a singer my father loved/loves and someone I always was able to identify the voice of. I have always remembered the voice of Hector Lavoe. Here I will attempt to paint a picture of who El Cantante really was with quotes and stories from those who knew him best and worked with him. Too often Hector’s turbulent marriage and addiction are sensationalized, and who he really was is ignored. Some said it was “usurping barrio culture and exploiting Lavoe’s memory”, others said it ‘only showed the sadness of his life’ and ‘casted his wife Puchi in a more positive light than who she actually was’. Movies like the 2002 movie El Cantante starring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, which was criticized by all of those who had worked with and known Hector. Hector’s life was filled with pain, sadness and addiction, however, these are the parts of his life, however true, are far too much emphasized, from books and articles to movies. Once you can see beyond a person’s imperfections in life, that’s when you can discover how beautiful an individual can be” (Antonio Mejias, The Life and Times of the Legendary Joe Cuba), those were the words of Joe Cuba on Hector Lavoe. “You have to see past all the flaws and mistakes a man commits in his life. June 29, 2020, 27 years since the passing of Hector Lavoe: he forever lives on! Hector Lavoe performing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |