A musician, composer and producer, Pacheco founded the Fania
Records label, as well as the historic Fania All Stars band, which included
salsa icons Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon.
"With great pain in my soul and an emptiness in my
heart I inform you that maestro Johnny Pacheco passed away this afternoon with
great peace," his wife, Cuqui Pacheco, said in a statement published on
the musician's official Facebook page.
"A thousand thanks for all your prayers and all the
love you always gave him."
Pacheco had been urgently hospitalized a few days ago for
pneumonia.
Born Juan Azarias Pacheco in Santiago de los Caballeros, in
the northern Dominican Republic, on March 25, 1935, he emigrated to New York as
a child with his family.
There, he studied at the Juilliard arts school and began his
musical career in the 1950s. He rose to fame with his band Pacheco y Su
Charanga.
He founded Fania Records in 1964 with attorney Gerald
Masucci.
He recorded or composed more than 100 songs during his
career, including "El Faisan" and "Quitate tu."
"DEP (Rest In Peace) my dear friend and teacher,"
Colon tweeted after Pacheco's death was announced, calling his former bandmate
"unique."
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