Santo Domingo (AFP)
Legendary musician Johnny Pacheco, considered one of the fathers of salsa, died Monday in New York at the age of 85, his family announced.
Musician, composer and producer, Johnny Pacheco, born in 1935 in the Dominican Republic, had notably founded the record label Fania Records and the historic group Fania All-Stars, through which salsa icons like Celia Cruz, Hector Lavos and Willie have passed. Colon.
"With great pain in my soul and a great void in my heart, I announce to you that Maestro Johnny Pacheco died today in peace. Many thanks for your prayers and for all the love you still have for him given, "his wife, Cuqui Pacheco, said in a statement on behalf of the family on the artist's official Facebook account.
The musician had been hospitalized urgently a few days ago for pneumonia.
Born on March 25, 1935 in the Dominican city of Santiago de los Caballeros, Juan Azarias Pacheco, later Johnny Pacheco, arrived in New York with his family as a child.
After studying music at the famous Juilliard School in New York, he began his career in the 1950s and rose to fame with the Pacheco y su Charanga orchestra.
In 1964 he founded Fania Records with lawyer Gerald "Jerry" Masucci.
"Rest in peace, my dear friend and master," Willie Colon tweeted.
"El pheasant" and "Quitate tu" are two of the more than a hundred songs that Johnny Pacheco has recorded or composed.
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