Johnny Pacheco, an idol in world of salsa, dies at age 85 by Sigal Ratner-Arias And Berenice Bautista, The Associated Press Posted Feb 15, 2021 11:31 pm EDT Last Updated Feb 15, 2021 at 11:44 pm EDT NEW YORK — Salsa idol Johnny Pacheco, who was a co-founder of Fania Records, Eddie Palmieri’s bandmate and backer of music stars such as Rubén Bladés, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, died Monday. He was 85. He had been hospitalized in New York a few days earlier for pneumonia, his wife, Maria Elena “Cuqui” Pacheco, said on the artist’s Facebook account. Fania Records tweeted that the musician was “the man most responsible for the genre of salsa music. He was a visionary and his music will live on eternally.”