Ángel Santos Vega Colon (November 1, 1922 – February 21, 1998), aka Santitos Colón, was a Puerto Rican

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

and

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

singer, born in

Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Sabana Grande () is a Sabana Grande barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas, Puerto Rico, Lajas and Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guánica; south of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Maricao; east of ...

and raised in Mayagüez. He was also known by the moniker: "The Man with The Golden Voice".

Youth and early career

Colón was born in

, but moved to the Dr. Luis Vadi Benelli street of the Cristy residential district in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, a location which he constantly made a reference to during his lifetime. His parents were Francisco Vega and Felícita Colón. He attempted to sing as a hobby in his early youth, occasionally teaming with Lester Cole, one of the brothers of composer Roberto Cole and later Mayagüez mayor Benjamín Cole. Their pairing was interchangeably known as "El Dúo Juvenil" and "El Dúo Azul". He later joined Frank Madera's orchestra but only could participate in activities during the day, since he was too young to join the band at nightly functions. Colón's tenure in Madera's orchestra lasted six years (1939–1944)

Mon Rivera Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican musicians (both born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez), namely Monserrate Rivera Alers (originally nicknamed Rate, later referred to as "Don Mon", or Mon T ...

(The Younger) was a bandmate of his. At the same time, Rivera had a partnership with Germán Vélez (later the father of international singer

Wilkins Vélez Wilkins (born March 10, 1953) is a Puerto Rican pop music singer and composer. Early years Wilkins (birth name: Germán Wilkins Vélez Ramírez was born in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, but raised in Mexico City, Mexico. His father, G ...

and journalist Bruni Vélez) called "El Dúo Huasteco". Colón joined Rivera and Vélez occasionally and toured as a trio over western Puerto Rico.

Colón and Tito Puente

Colón was a long-time member of

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

's orchestra and was a member of the

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

. His is the voice heard singing chorus most prominently and saying "¡Ajá! ¡Ajá!" in the original version of

Oye Como Va Oye is Spanish for "hey" or "listen". Oye or Oye! or OYE may refer to: Geography *Oye, Ekiti, a town and LGA in Ekiti State. *Oye-Plage, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Oyes, a commune in Marne, France People *Kenneth A. Oye, an American pol ...

by Puente's orchestra.

Solo career

Santitos became well known as a singer of

s and Spanish language versions of English standards, often recorded with an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l backing. His

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

was "Niña". Fania selected Santos Colón and

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira ...

as solo singers despite having Justo Betancourt and

Monguito Ramón Quián (died May 26, 2006), better known as Monguito "El Único", was a Cuban vocalist, bandleader, producer and composer. An Afro-Cuban sonero, he had a simple improvising style with a distinctive nasal voice. Career Monguito performed w ...

el Único under contract.César Miguel Rondón, Frances R. Aparicio, Jackie White ''The Book of Salsa: A Chronicle of Urban Music from the Caribbean'' 2008 Page 53 "The final two of the seven Fania singers — Santos Colón and Cheo Feliciano — were called soloists because they had no permanent role in any particular orchestra. It is odd that Fania selected these two when it had four other singers under contract. In fact, it is easy to argue that either Justo Betancourt or Monguito should..."

Personal life

Santitos Colón is survived by his sons Santos and George and daughter Diana Vega Namer, who reside in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He is also survived by his wife Judy. Santitos is survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost another son, Héctor, to liver disease in July 1998.

Death

In the early morning hours of February 20, 1998, he went to the recording studio More Audio Productions to bring his voice to two boleros in duet with the singer

Carmen Delia Dipiní Carmen Delia Dipiní Piñero (November 18, 1927 – August 4, 1998) was a Music of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican singer of boleros. In 2002, she was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Early years Dipiní was born in Naguabo, ...

. But, just before preparing to carry out this task, he felt a strong stomach pain when asked to sing. However, instead of going to a doctor, he chose to return to his home in Laguna Gardens neighborhood in Carolina, where the pain turned acute. The next morning, February 21, 1998, he suffered a stroke, so he was transferred to the Dr. Federico Trilla Regional Hospital in Carolina. Shortly after his arrival, he fell into a deep coma. He died that night. Doctors discovered he was suffering from prostate cancer and that this condition was in a very advanced stage. Santitos never complained or received treatment to combat the illness. Five days before, on February 15, 1998, he had recorded his participation in the program "Voices in function," the singer

Lou Briel Lou Briel (born October 19 Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer, composer, comedian, record producer, pianist, and host, among other things. Musical career Early years with Anexo 3 Lou Briel started his career at a very young age as ...

animated and produced in WIPR / Channel 6 and which was broadcast a week after his death. The next day, on February 17, 1998, he made his last performance, which was in "El Show de Raymond Arrieta", in WAPA TV / Channel 4. A significant detail presentation occurred during the second season could be a warning of his impending end: while playing one of his hits, "hours and minutes" - bolero of Antonio Jose "Pepe" Quirós who vocalized hundreds of times over 30 years - he forgot the lyrics for a moment. Although his seniority allowed him to overcome the situation without much difficulty, it was the first time in more than six decades of artistic career.

Discography

*Portrait Of Santos Colón (

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York City, New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964 in music, 1964. The label took its name from a popular luncheonette fre ...

), 1969 * Santitos (

), 1970 * Love Story (

), 1971 * Imágenes / Éxitos De Santos Colón (

), 1971 * Fiel (

), 1972 * Brindis De Navidad (

), 1972 * Long Live The King (Cotique), 1973 *Santitos Y Su Pueblo (Cotique), 1974 * Con Mucho Cariño (

), 1975 * Siempre Santitos (

), 1976 * Bonita (

), 1977 * Con Placer (

), 1979 * Mis Grandes Éxitos En El Bolero De Amor (Disco Hit), 1994 * Bolero De Amor / Parte II (Disco Hit), 1995 * Un Santo Para La Historia (DHCD), 1998 With

Orchestra * Dance Manía (1958 - RCA Víctor) * Mucho Cha Cha (1959 - RCA Víctor) * Tambó (1960 - RCA Víctor) * The Exciting Tito Puente Band In Hollywood (1961 - GNP) * El Rey Tito : Bravo Puente (1962 - Tico) * In Puerto Rico (Live) (1963 - Tico) * Excitante Ritmo (1963 - Tico) * El Mundo Latino De Tito Puente (1963 - Tico) * Mucho Puente (1964 - Tico) * De Mi Para Ti (1964 - Tico) * Carnaval En Harlem (1965 - Tico) * Stop & Listen / Pare & Oiga (1967 Tico) * El Rey

he King He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

(1968 - Tico) * Tito Puente En El Puente n The Bridge(1969 Tico) * Pa’ Lante traight(1970 - Tico) * No Hay Mejor here Is No Better(1975 - Tico) * Homenaje A Beny (1978) Plays with Tito Puente ("Dolor Y Perdón") * Homenaje A Beny (1979) Plays with Tito Puente ("Como El Arrullo De Palmas") * The Mambo King : His 100th Album (1991 - RMM) * Y Su Pueblo (1974 - Fania) With

Fania All Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucc ...

* Live At The Cheetah (Vol. 1&2) * '' Our Latin Thing'' (1971) * Live In Africa (1974) *

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

(1975) * Tribute To

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

(1976) * Commitment (1980) * Latin Connection (1981) With Payo Alicea & Sexteto La Playa * Vaya Means Go ! (Mardi Grass), 1968 With Wilkins * No Se Puede Morir Por Dentro (Velvet), 1977 With Artistada Puertorriqueña * Somos El Prójimo (1986) With Miguelito Miranda & Orquesta * Miguelito Miranda & Orquesta (Verne), 1948 re released as 50 years in music (CR), 1987. Plays with Panchito Minguela With Joey Hernández * ¡Compárame ! (PMA), 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Santos 1922 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers Deaths from prostate cancer Salsa musicians Musicians from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Fania Records artists People from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Spanish-language singers of the United States Fania All-Stars members