Héctor Lavoe: the story behind his last interview

Overwhelmed by the death of his son, Héctor Lavoe attempted to take his own life by jumping from the ninth floor of the Regency Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The unfortunate episode occurred on June 26, 1988, since then, the light of one of the great stars of salsa began to slowly go out.

Despite attempts at rehabilitation, depression and illicit substance abuse led him to a dead-end tunnel, several friends abandoned him to his fate and he ended up spending his last days in a small apartment in Queens, New York.

From that place,’The singer of singers‘ gave his last interview to the American program It happened like this. It was February 1992, the Puerto Rican journalist Gloria Single and his cameraman came to meet the artist, however, they never imagined that the scene would leave them shocked.

Hector He came out of a dark room, he was in pajamas and disheveled; He could barely walk, the smell of cigarettes inside the apartment was intense because he smoked constantly, his fingers were stained by tobacco. It was not even the shadow of what he reflected in his glory years.

He was accompanied by his sister and the musician David Lugohis right-hand man, arranged the interview and hired a make-up artist to enhance the artist’s lacklustre appearance. At first he was uncomfortable, reluctant and upset, but his assistant did everything in her power to cheer him up.

Suddenly, the first notes of their songs set the tone for that gloomy space, Hector He dared to hum them while receiving the attention of the stylist; His mood improved and he seemed to revive that emotion that took hold of him when he arrived in Peru and climbed onto the stage of the remembered Home Fair.

A room full of awards, with walls adorned with gold and platinum records, contrasted with her tired image as she sat on a sofa.

Héctor “wanted to leave… and be with his son”

The interview with Hector Lavoe It lasted more than two hours, but the television broadcast about 6 minutes, enough time to request the necessary help and try to get him out of the very poor conditions in which he lived. He could barely understand what he said, he frequently mentioned his deceased son and denied that he had an incurable illness.

Gloria Soltero revealed that she was about to abandon the interview, she called her producer to warn her about the lamentable condition of the ‘King of punctuality’. However, she was told that the purpose of the commission was to provide support to the artist because the report was going to be broadcast by the network. Telemundo. Finally, the note was presented by the Argentine, Enrique Planas.

“The program It happened like this He was in charge of doing strange reports at that time and they scheduled several stories for me in New York, one of those stories was about Hector Lavoewho had not been seen for more than five years. They had given the go-ahead for the interview, I believe, at the insistence of the producer called Mariví. Everything she set out to do she achieved,” the journalist told Salserísimo Peru.

“I called the producer and told her: ‘I wouldn’t like people to remember Héctor in the condition he is in now. I think it does a disservice to the legacy he leaves as a salsa singer,'” he added. .

When the interview was over, Soltero recalls that the singer asked to return to his room. “Bye, Baby,” he told the journalist before retreating back into his solitude. Since then, she has not heard from him or received any kind of help, until June 1993, when the news of his death was confirmed.

“He wanted to leave, he wanted to die and be with his son. There were parts of the interview that I couldn’t use, but I feel that it was a great opportunity that life gave me to meet that person, whose songs are currently sung by many of us,” he concluded.

Posthumous recognition for Hector Lavoe

Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez, better known as Hector Lavoeemigrated to New York from his native Puerto Rico at the age of 16, and in collaboration with Willie Colón he achieved great successes such as Aguanilé, Hey hey I’m here, The murga, Luna Street, Sol Street, Juana Peñaamong other songs that became favorites of the salsa public.

After the end of his musical collaboration with the interpreter of Gypsythe ‘Singer of singers’ launched his solo career in 1974, scoring hits The singer, Break Saragüey and Yesterday’s newspaper.

Lavoe was recognized with two sculptures, one in his native Ponce (Puerto Rico) and the other in the Peruvian port of Callao, where a figure was also placed in honor of Celia Cruz.

On June 29, 1993, at the age of 46, Héctor Lavoe’s life came to an end. Considered by many to be the greatest exponent of salsa, his irreverent and unbridled personality hid all kinds of personal problems and tragedies that came to be reflected in several of the songs that he immortalized with his legendary voice, becoming an idol for several generations.