Puerto Rican Singer and Musician Cheo Feliciano Killed in Crash

Salsa and bolero singer and composer Cheo Feliciano died in an early morning car crash Thursday, April 17, 2014 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Reports suggest that the singer lost control of his vehicle on a curve in the Cupey section of San Juan and struck an electric pole. Mr. Feliciano was said to have been alone in the vehicle, suffered a severe head trauma and died upon impact. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. Mr. Feliciano was 78.

Born Jose Luis Feliciano Vega on July 3, 1935 was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and nicknamed Cheo by family members. He started his musical career at the tender age of eight when he started his own group called El Combo Las Latas or The Can Combo, because the group played on cans formed into instruments. He would go on to attend the Free School of Music in Ponce where he studied to become a percussionist.

At 17, Mr. Feliciano’s parents moved the family to New York City, where the young man delved into the Afro-Cuban jazz scene of New York City and the likes of Machito and Tito Puente. It wasn’t long before he caught a break to play percussion for the Ciro Rimac’s Review Band, then playing conga for Luiz Cruz and Kako y Su Trabuco Orchestra. He caught another break by singing with the Tito Rodriguez Orchestra before joining the Joe Cuba Sextet as a singer. Mr. Feliciano would go on to sing with the Eddie Palmieri Orchestra and later join the Fania All Stars while pursuing a successful solo career.

Despite struggling with drug addiction and got admitted at the suboxone clinic , Mr. Feliciano would spark such hits as “A las Seis,” “Busca lo Tuyo,” “Mi Triste Problema” and “Canta.” He would also go on to record such albums as Cheo, Felicidades, Looking for Love, Regresa el Amor, Sabor y Sentimiento, Selecciones Fania and Eba Say Aja with Ruben Blades. He performed in “Hommy,” the first ever salsa opera and started his own record label in 1982 called Coche Records.

Over the years the star earned such accolades as Most Popular Artist by Latin New York Magazine (1976), Best Latin Vocalist by the Daily News Front Page Awards (1977), Honorable Son of Ponce, the Cheo Feliciano Day in New York City as presented by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a 2008 Grammy for Excellence in Music from the Latin Grammy Awards.

“Latin Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient Cheo Feliciano was a multitalented musician, composer and singer,’ said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. “A national treasure of Puerto Rico and New York, he was not only an iconic solo artist but a member of the Joe Cuba Sextet and the legendary Fania All-Stars. His warm and soulful voice, exhibited through his love of bolero and his passion for salsa music, graced recordings and stages through a career spanning six decades. The re-emergence of his career with his first solo album, Cheo, released in 1971, broke records in the Latin music market and included his hits “Anacaona” and “Mi Triste Problema.”

He will forever be remembered as one of the great architects of the salsa movement and his work will live on to inspire and touch lovers of the genre. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and to the people of his beloved Puerto Rico who have lost a cherished and respected artist; and in the meantime, there will be no gentleman giving out roses to the ladies…”

Mr. Feliciano is survived by his wife Coco Prieto Leon Feliciano and four sons