I was disturbed when I read this development after someone posted the story in my Facebook news feed, based on an article from Colombia Reports.
I first learned of Joe Arroyo through the classic salsa song “Rebelion (No Le Pegue a la Negra),” a story song about colonial slavery and mistreatment of women. Definitely not the most fun topic, but to this day, I can tell you that as a D.J., this song starts the party for fans of salsa music. “Pa’l Bailador” is also a favorite, and even though Arroyo was born in Cartagena, one of his popular songs remains “En Baranquilla Me Quedo,” his tribute song to the Colombian city of Baranquilla, where sadly, he perished the morning of July 26, 2011 in a hospital intensive care unit.
It appears he lived a hard life of drug use and womanizing, which may often be glamorized, but at times like these, the toll of such a lifestyle is evident. Arroyo still had plenty of musical ‘gas in the tank’ to continue his craft, but his vital organs told a different story.
photo courtesy of Joe Arroyo artist profile page on MySpace
In a sad twist of fate, The Latin Recording Academy® announced the day he died that Arroyo would be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award along with Jose Feliciano and Linda Ronstadt as part of the upcoming Latin GRAMMY® Awards on Nov. 9 in Las Vegas. The honor for Arroyo will now be a posthumous one.
The Latin Recording Academy® described Arroyo in the announcement:
Colombian singer, songwriter and composer Joe Arroyo began his musical journey at the young age of 8, singing in one of his hometown’s most popular music halls. In 1971 he joined the very successful band Fruko Y Sus Tesos (Fruko And His Buddies) and toured throughout Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the United States, sharing the stage with legends such as Bobby Cruz, Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe, Tito Puente, and Richie Ray. A decade later Arroyo formed his own band, La Verdad (The Truth) and was awarded the Conga De Oro Award by the acclaimed Colombian Carnival of Barranquilla. His music crosses many styles including salsa, compas, merengue, reggae, and soca and he also developed his own style, the Joesón. Today, Arroyo continues to perform throughout Latin America and the United States.
Arroyo is survived by his wife. No funeral arrangements have been released.
Fellow musicians from the Latin American world saluted Arroyo on Twitter:
Alejandro Sanz: “Adiós al gran Joe Arroyo descanse en paz” (Farewell to the the great Joe Arroyo, rest in peace)
Olga Tañon: “MIS RESPETOS A TODA COLOMBIA POR LA MUERTE DE SU GRAN ARTISTA JOE ARROYO 🙁 UNA GRAN PERDIDA EN NUESTRA MUSICA.LO RECORDAREMOS SIEMPRE!” (My respect to all of Colombia over the death of its great artist Joe Arroyo, a great loss in our music. We will always remember him.”
Video from GlobalEntertainMusic channel on YouTube
