"La Voz" ("The Voice")

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Hector Lavoe was one of the greatest incandescent singers in salsa. He was an improviser, who used a boyish sound to impart passion. His voice, high and pure, turned the most banal lyrics into pleas, and when he improvised he moved from clipped, abrupt rhythms to a graceful float that made his singing extraordinarily beautiful. His sound and his style became the foundation on which many future salsa singers built.

Salsa was first recognized as its own genre in New York City in the 1960s, the very time that the young Lavoe was flexing his musical muscles. New York was the music capital of the world in this era, and it was here that artists like Lavoe immigrated from various countries and started to evolve this popular genre in its New York Latino communities.

With all the excess, fame, fortune, and tragedy from such humble beginnings, Lavoe's life has gone on to symbolize the salsa era of the '70s. With Willie Colón, Lavoe helped shape the salsa sound of the '70s. As a solo artist, he defined the salsa sound of the '70s. And as one of the lead singers of the Fania All-Stars, Lavoe was the star among stars, "El Cantante de los Cantantes."

His life was an open book, each page of which documented the tragedy and heartbreak that marked and influenced the rise and fall of his brilliant professional career.