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If the New York salsa scene were its own galaxy a glittering cluster where artists from across the Caribbean and the United States orbited around one another in a feverish dance the late Johnny Pacheco was the gravitational pull that held them together.
Pacheco, the famed bandleader, flutist, percussionist and co-founder of the groundbreaking salsa label Fania Records, died Monday at 85. His wife, Maria Elena “Cuqui” Pacheco, confirmed his death of complications from pneumonia.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco inherited his musical prowess from his father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco, bandleader and clarinetist of the renowned Santa Cecilia Orchestra. The Pacheco family emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the Bronx in 1946, when Johnny was 11 years old. From there he dedicated himself to two courses of study engineering and music. It was after a short stint as an engineering student at Brooklyn Tech that he pivoted to the Juilliard School of Mus ....

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