Ralph Mercado Jr. (September 29, 1941 – March 10, 2009) was a promoter of

Latin American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved African people who were ...

—

Latin Jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

Latin rock Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

, merengue and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

— who established a network of businesses that included promoting concerts, managing artists, Ritmo Mundo Musical (RMM) a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

the most important in the Latin industry during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, as well as a film company, nightclubs and restaurants.

Early life

Mercado was born on September 29, 1941 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to a father who was a Dominican dockworker and a Puerto Rican mother who was employed by a local factory. He told an interviewer that he was able to dance the merengue as soon as he learned how to walk. In his early teens, he was "completely blown away" after seeing the

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

Orchestra perform at the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

, and he left "knowing I had to be involved in this music somehow, personally involved". Lacking any musical skill as a singer or performer, he started promoting "waistline parties", live music events in apartment building basements in which women were charged in proportion to their waist size, with thinner women charged less, and Mercado measuring at the door.

Career

Shifting across the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

from his Brooklyn roots, Mercado started promoting Latin jazz at

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

clubs such as

The Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...

. These expanded into concerts at major venues with stars such as

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, who appeared with Latin acts such as

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and ...

. He turned to managing performers, founding RMM Management in 1972, where his clients included

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

and

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

, achieving acclaim as the biggest salsa manager in the United States by the 1970s. He developed new talent, such as

La India Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Aw ...

and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

, presenting salsa concerts at major venues across the country, from

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

to the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

. Mercado started

RMM Records RMM Records, also known as RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label established in 1987 and based in New York City. The label was most active during the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced primarily salsa, Latin j ...

in 1987, which had in excess of 130 artists performing across the Latin music spectrum, representing merengue, salsa, Latin jazz and Latin rock. He rode the expanding size and economic power of the nation's Hispanic population and a general interest in salsa music. Mercado brought in international groups and influences from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and even

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He achieved acclaim as the most successful promoter of salsa music, comparable to

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

's role in R&B. In 1991, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine described him as "the entrepreneur who took salsa from New York to the world". RMM Records was sold to the

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

in 2001 for about $26 million, including its Latin music catalog of as many as 400 master recordings, winning the rights over competitor

Sony Discos Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with ...

. The sale came following financial difficulties exacerbated by the loss of a copyright infringement suit, in which composer

Glenn Monroig Glenn Monroig (born April 22, 1957), is a Puerto Rican composer, guitarist, and singer of various types of music styles, such as salsa, boleros and rumba. He is credited with having recorded the first rap song in Spanish. Biography Early year ...

won $7.7 million from a federal jury, which had grown to $11 million with interest, based on claims that RMM had modified one of his songs and used it without his permission or payment of royalties Navarro, Mireya
"For Sale: A Latin Music Legacy; Facing Bankruptcy, a Record Pioneer Draws Gratitude and Reproach"
''The New York Times'', June 7, 2001. Accessed March 11, 2009. Thereafter the sale of RMM, Ralph Mercado returned to promoting salsa concerts, on a global basis. He retained control of three music publishing firms, RMM Filmworks and Ralph Mercado Presents. He also owned, in whole or part, Manhattan clubs

Babalu Babalu may refer to: * "Babalú", a 1939 song popularized by Desi Arnaz in the 1940s * '' BaBalu'', a 2001 Michael Bublé album * Babalu, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * The nickname for mixed martial artist Renato Sobral * Ba ...

and the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

, as well as the

Conga Room The Conga Room is a Los Angeles nightlife and private events location. Founded in 1998, the Conga Room's first location was on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA. The Conga Room is now located in Downtown Los Angeles' L.A. Live across from t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Awards and recognition

In 1998, Mercado received the El Premio ''Billboard'' Lifetime Achievement Award. On September 28, 2008, Mercado was honored by

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

Park.

Personal life

Mercado had lived in

Cresskill Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,573,Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, before moving to

Cliffside Park, New Jersey Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 23,594,Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) is a 781-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital providing tertiary and healthcare needs located seven miles (11 km) west of New York City, in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. As of 2 ...

in Hackensack from cancer.Levin, Jay
"Salsa impresario, Ralph Mercado, 67"
''

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and P ...

'', March 11, 2009. Accessed March 12, 2009. He was survived by his second wife - Cynthia; his daughters - Debra, Damaris, Melissa and Chanel; his son - Ralph III; his brothers - John Ayala, Richard Ayala and Jorge Sanchez; his sister - Angelica Kreiger; and six grandchildren.Staab, Amanda. "UC first stop for Latin Grammies" ''

The Union City Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' is a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Hudson Reporter'' publications mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain is the '' Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 198 ...

''; October 5, 2008; Pages 1 & 21

References

RMM labels

SOHO Latino
* Sonero Discos * RMM International * TropiJazz * Merengazo * RMM Rocks

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercado, Ralph American music industry executives American people of Dominican Republic descent American people of Puerto Rican descent Deaths from cancer in New Jersey People from Brooklyn People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey People from Cresskill, New Jersey People from Hackensack, New Jersey 1941 births 2009 deaths