"El Cantante" is the 1978 signature song of Puerto Rican

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), 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: Arts and ent ...

singer

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

and first single of the album '' Comedia''. The song was written by

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

and produced by

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

. The 2006 movie about Lavoe's life, ''

El Cantante ''El Cantante'' (''The Singer'') is a 2006 biographical film which stars singers Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. The film is based on the life of the late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe, who is portrayed by Anthony. The film is told from the vie ...

'', takes its title from the song. In 2024, the song was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Ángel López version

In late 2004 Puerto Rican singer Ángel López released a cover of the song as a solo artist after being the lead singer of the group

Son By Four Son by Four is a Latin music group from Puerto Rico, well known for their English U.S. pop hit " The Purest of Pain (A Puro Dolor)". The group is now independent, and they founded their label SB4 Music Group in 2003. Son by Four was created by ...

. His version had airplay success in the U.S. Tropical Charts by Billboard.Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay
/ref>

Charts

References

{{authority control 1978 songs Héctor Lavoe songs Marc Anthony songs Víctor Manuelle songs Ivy Queen songs Songs written by Rubén Blades United States National Recording Registry recordings