(Photo : Andrew H. Walker) L-R) Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Johnny Pacheco and Ismael Miranda attend the 22nd annual ASCAP Latin Music Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom on March 18, 2014 in New York City. Salsa music has lost one of its greatest pillars, Johnny Pacheco, as he waves his goodbye at 85. ABC7 reported that the co-founder of Fania records had been hospitalized in New York City a few days earlier due to pneumonia. His wife, Maria Elena "Cuqui" Pacheco, also shared this news on the artist's Facebook account. In a Twitter post, Fania Records noted that the musician was "the man most responsible for the genre of salsa music." The record company also said that Johnny Pacheco was "a visionary and his music will live on eternally."