Overview
- His family announced the news on Facebook on Feb. 21 and requested privacy as they mourn.
- No cause of death has been released, though reports a day earlier said he was hospitalized in New York with respiratory problems.
- Artists including J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, Marc Anthony, Farruko and Bad Bunny shared public tributes to his legacy.
- Born in the Bronx, he signed to Fania as a teenager, debuted with El Malo in 1967 and forged seminal collaborations with Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades across more than 40 albums.
- He earned nine Gold and five Platinum records, multiple Grammy nominations and a Latin Recording Academy lifetime honor, and his last Puerto Rico concert on Aug. 9, 2025, was a sellout in San Juan.