We may have seen the last of Hector Lavoe, but the memory of the iconic king of salsa still lingers in the hearts of his admirers scattered across the world. Lavoe, also known as El Cantante de los Cantantes (the singer of singers), goes down in history as one of the best salsa musicians who launched Latin and salsa music around the world. whole. He started from the 60s to fascinate his fans with his unique style of music.
Hector headed into the evening of his days in the late 80s when he began to suffer from depression and addiction, compounded by an HIV diagnosis. Here’s everything you need to know about the life and death of this iconic salsa singer.
Biography of Hector Lavoe
He was born Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez on September 30, 1946 to his parents; Francisca (Pachita) Martínez and Luis Pérez, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was indeed a question of heredity for the singer who grew up in a family of musically inclined people. Her father was very good with the guitar and her mother was known for her unique voice. Hector followed his parents’ line and turned his passion for music into a career. He attended the Juan Morel Campos Public School of Music, where his taste for music continued to develop. Influenced by Jesús Sánchez Erazo and Daniel Santos, he quickly left school and embarked on a career as a singer.
In 1963, he moved to New York and began as a singer in a sextet formed by Roberto Garcia. He was 17 at the time and collaborated with music groups such as Orquesta New York, Kako All-Stars and Johnny Pacheco, co-owner of Fania Records. Hector came into contact with Willie Colon, a salsa musician in 1967. After several discussions with Willie, Lavoe was recorded on a track from Colon’s debut album. El-Malo. Lavoe’s voice and car were the best and Colon kept the precious gift he received – Lavoe.
The album was finally released and it was a huge commercial success that allowed Colon and Lavoe to become known and propel them to very high financial heights. They both went into the millions after the success of the album. The two embarked on several tours promoting the album and subsequent ones.
In 1973, Lavoe went solo and led his own band and began touring with the band, performing their own songs. He recorded songs like ‘El Cantante’, ‘Bandolera’ and ‘El periodic de Ayer’ and many more in his solo career. During this time he also performed as a guest vocalist within the Fania All-Stars and recorded many songs with them.
Dead
In the late 1970s, Hector fell into severe depression and resorted to drugs. His addiction worsened over the years, and Lavoe sought the help of a priest to help him with drugs.
He entered rehab and was responding to therapy until he was struck by the devastating development of the deaths of his son, mother and stepfather and being diagnosed with HIV. This caused Lavoe to revert to his drug-using habits. He was depressed to the point of wanting to kill himself.
Lavoe recorded an album during this time although his health was already deteriorating. The singer’s last performance dates back to 1990, when he sang with the Fania All-Stars in New Jersey, and in 1992 at the SOB club in New York. He died at the age of 46 on June 29, 1993, after a complication of AIDS.
His net worth
There have been discrepancies in the reports regarding the net worth of El Cantante de los Cantantes. He is quite expected, as he died several years ago. While many sources put his net worth at $1 million, Hector Lavoe did a lot more during his active days. However, there has been no evidence to confirm this.
Family – wife, son, daughter
Hector Lavoe would have been there to protect his wife if he was alive. At the time of his death in 1993, he was married to Nilda Puchi Lavoe. Nilda lost her life at the cold hands of death in 2002, nine years after the death of her husband. While filming an ‘El Cantante’ documentary about her late husband, Nilda tragically slipped from her story window, fell to the floor and died from a severe head trauma.
Hector and Nilda shared a son, Hector Jr. Hector Jr also died in 1969 after being mistakenly shot by a friend of his father. Lavoe was a stepfather to Nilda’s daughter, Leslie.