Álvaro José Arroyo González (also known as Joe Arroyo or El Joe; 1 November 1955 – 26 July 2011) was a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer, composer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest performers of Caribbean and salsa music in his country and across Latin America. In 2018 Billboard counted Arroyo's song "La Rebelión" as one of the "15 Best Salsa Songs Ever".[1]
Joe Arroyo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Arroyo in Medellín, 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alvaro José Arroyo González |
| Also known as | El Joe |
| Born | 1 November 1955 Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia |
| Died | 26 July 2011 (aged 55) Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia |
| Genres | Joeson, Salsa, tropical, Cumbia, Porro, Chandé |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Wood block |
| Years active | 1969–2011 |
| Labels | Discos Fuentes, Sony Music |
Life and career
edit1955–1970: Early life
editJoe Arroyo was born and raised in the Nariño neighborhood of Cartagena.[2] His mother was Ángela González, a hotel manager. His father was Guillermo Arroyo, who fathered in total 39 children, with six wives, all named Ángela.[3] At the age of eight Arroyo began singing in brothels in Tesca, a red-light district of Cartagena, which he did for several years.[3]
1970–1981: Early career
editArroyo's first credited release as vocalist was in 1970 with Manuel Villanueva Y Su Orquesta on their LP Hasta La Madrugada....!.[4] He also sang with El Super Combo Los Diamantes in Sincelejo, and in 1970 performed vocals on their LP Capullito. Rubén Darío Salcedo, the leader of Los Diamantes, gave Arroyo the nickname El Joe.[4] Arroyo also spent some time singing with La Protesta in Barranquilla.[2]
In 1971 Arroyo was invited to join Fruko y sus Tesos by Julio Ernesto Estrada, the bassist and director of the band.[3] By the end of the decade Arroyo had recorded 15 albums with Fruko y sus Tesos, alongside 4 more with The Latin Brothers, all for Colombian record label Discos Fuentes.[5] Of Arroyo's tenure with Fruko y sus Tesos, El Tiempo wrote "Thus began the legend of the first great salsa orchestra in Colombia, with which Arroyo managed to impose a stamp that Colombia still dances to today". (Spanish: "Así comenzó la leyenda de la primera gran orquesta de la salsa en Colombia, con la cual Arroyo logró imponer un sello que todavía baila Colombia".)[4] He performed with the band for ten years until 1981, when he began his solo career leading his band, named "La Verdad" (The truth).
1981-2011: La Verdad
editIn 1981 Arroyo formed his own group, named Joe Arroyo y La Verdad, with whom he played around the world.[4] The group recorded more than 20 albums between 1981 and 2007.[5]
Arroyo became very successful by mixing salsa, cumbia, porro, soca, compas (or konpa), zouk and other music from the African Diaspora in a unique style.[citation needed] Some of his most famous songs are "Rebelión", "La Noche", "Tania", "El Ausente" and "En Barranquilla Me Quedo".
Health issues and death
editArroyo suffered from health problems throughout his career,[6] which forced him to cancel several performances.[citation needed] On at least one occasion he was falsely reported dead.[7] In September 1983 Arroyo was nearly killed by a thyroid problem,[6] and in 2000 a combination of diabetes and pneumonia brought him close to death while touring in Spain.[7] He had to go through surgery because of problems with his eyes.[citation needed]
Arroyo's health issues have been attributed, in varying degrees, to drug use.[8][9][10] He denied the involvement of drugs in his September 1983 illness.[7]
Arroyo died in Barranquilla on 26 July 2011, after spending nearly a month in hospital due to multiorgan failure. The day before his death, he was given his final sacrament by the local bishop. Arroyo died at around 7:45 local time.[11]
Legacy
edit
Between June and December 2011 the RCN channel broadcast a soap opera based on the singer's life called El Joe, la leyenda (The Joe, the legend). On 9 November 2011, Shakira was honored as Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and performed a cover of Arroyo's song "En Barranquilla Me Quedo" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center as a tribute to the singer.[12][13] A three-meter tall bronze and copper statue of Arroyo was unveiled in Cartagena, Colombia in 2013.[14][15] Geotrigona joearroyoi, a species of bee discovered in 2014 in Colombia, was named in honour of Arroyo.[16]
Discography
edit- Arroyando (1981)
- Con Gusto y Gana (1981)
- El Campeón (1982)
- Actuando (1983)
- Hasta Amanecé (1984)
- Me le Fugué a la Candela (1985)
- Musa Original (1986)
- Echao Pa' Lante (1987)
- Fuego En Mi Mente (1988)
- En Acción (1989)
- La Guerra de los Callados (1990)
- Toque de Clase (1991)
- Fuego (1993)
- Sus Razones Tendrá (1994)
- Mi Libertad (1995)
- Reinando en Vida (1996)
- Deja Que Te Cante (1997)
- Cruzando el Milenio (1998)
- En Sol Mayor (1999)
- Marcando Terreno (2001)
- Se Armo la Moña en Carnaval (2005)
- El Súper Joe (2007)
Awards and nominations
editLatin Grammy Awards
editA Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Joe Arroyo received two nominations, and in 2011 he was presented with a posthumous career award.[17]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | En Sol Mayor | Best Traditional Tropical Album | Nominated |
| 2008 | El Súper Joe | Best Contemporary Tropical Album | Nominated |
| 2011 | Special Awards (Posthumous) | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won |
Congo de Oro
editArroyo has won the prestigious Congo de Oro prize of the Barranquilla Carnival 10 times. In 1990 the festival created the Super Congo de Oro award specifically to celebrate Arroyo.[2][5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Cantor-Navas, Judy (31 May 2018). "The 15 Best Salsa Songs Ever: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Mauricio Silva Guzmán (12 July 2011), "Joe Arroyo, un hombre tocado por Dios/ Biografía", eltiempo.com (in Spanish), El Tiempo, archived from the original on 11 January 2012
- ^ a b c "Joe Arroyo biografía", discosfuentes.com (in Spanish), Discos Fuentes, archived from the original on 18 July 2011
- ^ a b c d "El Joe fue 'la rebelión'", eltiempo.com (in Spanish), El Tiempo, 27 July 2011, retrieved 1 April 2024
- ^ a b c "Joe Arroyo biography", britannica.com, Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 4 August 2020
- ^ a b "Joe Arroyo: diez años recordando al centurión de la afrocolombianidad" [Joe Arroyo: ten years remembering the centurion of Afro-Colombian identity], elespectador.com (in Spanish), El Espectador, 25 July 2021, retrieved 1 April 2024
- ^ a b c "Joe Arroyo,el rey no ha muerto" [Joe Arroyo, the king is not dead], rollingstone.com.ar (in Spanish), Rolling Stone, 1 March 2004, archived from the original on 7 August 2011
- ^ "A finales del siglo XX y comienzos del XXI, su carrera se vio constantemente truncada por cuenta de sus problemas de salud, casi todos ellos potenciados por el consumo de droga, mal que lo acompañó desde los años setenta hasta poco antes de caer en su lecho de muerte." (English: "At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, his career was constantly cut short due to his health problems, almost all of them exacerbated by drug use, an illness that accompanied him from the seventies until shortly before he died.") "El Joe fue 'la rebelión'", eltiempo.com (in Spanish), El Tiempo, 27 July 2011, retrieved 1 April 2024
- ^ "La primera vez que nos reunimos con el Joe, hace tres años, estábamos preocupados por cómo íbamos a tratar el tema de las drogas. Pero lo primero que él nos dijo fue: "Yo quiero que lo cuenten todo y con todo lo que eso implica". Nunca ocultó su pasado oscuro, siempre puso la cara. La novela arrancó contando uno de sus momentos más críticos con la droga y más adelante volveremos a ese punto." (English: "When we first met with Joe, three years ago, we were worried about how we were going to deal with the drug issue. But the first thing he told us was: "I want you to tell everything and with everything that that implies." He never hid his dark past, he always showed his face. The novela began by telling one of his most critical moments with drugs and later we will return to that point.") "El libretista del Joe habla de la historia" [Joe's lyricist discusses the story], elpais.com.co, El País, 6 August 2011, retrieved 1 April 2024
- ^ "El parte médico dijo que fue por un problema de tiroides. La prensa dijo que fue un exceso de drogas. ¿Qué pasó?" (English: "The medical report said it was due to a thyroid problem. The press said it was an excess of drugs. What happened?") "Joe Arroyo,el rey no ha muerto" [Joe Arroyo, the king is not dead], rollingstone.com.ar (in Spanish), Rolling Stone, 1 March 2004, archived from the original on 7 August 2011
- ^ "Colombian music legend Joe Arroyo dies at 55". colombiareports.com. Colombia Reports. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Shakira Honored as Latin Grammy Person of the Year". Billboard. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Emotivo tributo a Shakira como Persona del Año" (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "Statue of Colombia salsa legend Joe Arroyo inaugurated in Cartagena". Colombiareports.com. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Cartagena inauguró estatua del 'Joe' Arroyo". Radiosantade.com (in Spanish). 31 October 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "A new species of Geotrigona Moure from the Caribbean coast of Colombia (Hymenoptera, Apidae) - Pensoft". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Salomon, Gisela (9 November 2011). "Arroyo, Costa, Lora y Les Luthiers honrados por Academia Latina". entretenimiento.terra.com (in Spanish). Terra Networks. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016.
External links
edit
- Information and images
- (in Spanish) El Joe fue 'la rebelión' – El Tiempo