Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” and Héctor Lavoe’s “El Cantante” will be safeguarded for posterity, the Library of Congress announced Tuesday.
The two tracks are among the the 25 “audio treasures” selected for induction into the Nationwide Recording Registry primarily based on their “importance in the nation’s recorded audio heritage.” Established in 2000, the registry is a collection of 650 audio recordings preserved by the Library of Congress that are deemed to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.” Among these year’s picks are Monthly bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Blondie’s “Parallel Lines” and Green Day’s “Dookie.”
For “Amor Eterno” and “El Cantante,” their cultural value to Latinx communities stretches back a long time.
Gabriel, the iconic Mexican singer-songwriter who died in 2016 at age 66, introduced “Amor Eterno” in 1990 as a tribute to his late mom. Because then, the mariachi ballad has turn out to be a image of grief and eternal appreciate for these who have passed away.
In 2019, “Amor Eterno” grew to become widely played at memorials and funerals in El Paso in the wake of a mass capturing that killed 23 men and women. Authorities say the gunman drove a lot more than 700 miles to the borderland to exclusively focus on Latinx persons and opened hearth in a Walmart. At the time, singer and professor Martha Gonzalez informed NPR that the tune experienced become “not just an act of grief but also an act of protest and declaring that, ‘We’re right here and we’re not likely any place.’”
Gabriel’s son Ivan Gabriel Aguilera, who labored with the Library of Congress to have the music be inducted in Spanish, claimed the recognition is a great honor for those who beloved his father’s songs.
“I consider that future generations — that is what he always desired — that they see his songs and make it relatable to their lives as very well. He would generally say that ‘as lengthy as the general public, people, hold singing my songs, Juan Gabriel will hardly ever die,’ and it’s great to see that happening listed here,” Aguilera stated.
“El Cantante” is considered to be one of salsa’s most iconic anthems, recorded by just one of the genre’s major stars and produced by arguably its most essential label.
Born in Puerto Rico, Lavoe moved to New York in the early ‘60s and quickly established himself as the facial area of the 1970s salsa growth, first as a singer for bands led by Johnny Pacheco and Willie Colón and then as a soloist. Published by Rubén Blades and generated by Colón — each Fania Information labelmates — “El Cantante” turned the first one off Lavoe’s 1978 album, “Comedia.”
In 1993, Lavoe died in Manhattan of problems from AIDS. He was 46.
“Amor Eterno” and “El Cantante” now join the likes of Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” as Latin songs provided in the National Recording Registry.
