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]
Life and career
1955–1970: Early life
Joe 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
Arroyo'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
In 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
Arroyo 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]
A 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]
Arroyo 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]
^"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
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