Hector lavoe puchi biography
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Lovely news: “El Cantante” is not a vanity project.
Indeed, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony – two powerhouse entertainers – deliver professionally earnest, at times truly gritty, performances in their portrayal of salsa creator Héctor Lavoe and his wife, Puchi.
With documentary-style flourishes, director Leon Ichaso’s biopic begins in black-and- white as Puchi defiantly walks into a room for an interview about her deceased husband.
Lavoe died in 1993 of AIDS complications at the age of 46.
At times prickly, at times nostalgic, Puchi declares that 1984 was the “end of the good times.” But as “El Cantante” shows, even the best decades were often tinged with sorrow. Underscoring this fact, the film’s vibrant color returns to mournful black-and-
white again and again.
In the production notes, Anthony tells a story about the one time he met Lavoe. He arrived at the legend’s apartment in the company of La
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Héctor Lavoe
Puerto Rican salsa singer (1946–1993)
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.
Musical artist
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993),[3] better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Ricansalsa singer.[4] Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa music because he helped to establish the popularity of this musical genre in the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His personality, style and the qualities of his voice led him to a successful artistic career in the whole field of Latin music and salsa during the 1970s and 1980s. The cleanness and brightness of his voice, coupled with impeccable diction and the ability to sing long and fast phrases with total naturalness, made him one of the favorite singers of the Latin public.[5][6]
Lavoe was born and
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Passion and Pain: The Life of Hector Lavoe
Marc Shapiro (2007)
Pub: St. Martin’s Griffin
Written by entertainment book author Marc Shapiro, producer of many popular titles such as those on The Eagles, Carlos Santana, Maria Carey, George Harrison, JK Rowling, The X-Files and, er, Baywatch: The tjänsteman Scrapbook, this book has been published unashamedly to coincide with the release of the film El Cantante (and why not, I would). You can read an interview with the author here.
The 202 page book takes you through the life of Hector Lavoe from Puerto Rico to NYC, stardom and beyond – and yes, as well as salsa musical performance it mentions drug use, ganska often.
Why you might buy it:
It is a cheap and easy read, the writing is more dynamic and expressive than you will find in straightforward academic texts (i.e. in this book Hector will ‘gaze in awe’ rather than ‘observe’). There are some interesting anecdotes and experiences relayed bygd band members who worked