Song:Anacaona
Album:Selecciones Fania
Cheo Feliciano is an outstanding salsa singer best known for his days with The Fania All Stars in the 70s. Anacaona is probably his signature song. He was born Jose Luis Feliciano Vega July 3, 1935 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Cheo is a childhood nickname that stuck with him. It was a good thing later as he didn't want to be confused with the more famous Jose Feliciano. He was singing in groups as a child and attended the Free School of Music in Ponce where he studied to be a percussionist. In 1952, Feliciano moved with his family to Spanish Harlem in New York City. He played percussion with Ciro Rimac, Tito Rodriguez, Luis Cruz and Kako y su Trabuco. In 1955, he auditioned for Joe Cuba as a singer. He became very popular in that band. Feliciano left the Cuba band for Eddie Palmieri in 1967. But he was addicted to heroin. He went into rehab in Puerto Rico. Feliciano credits his best friend songwriter Tite Curet Alonso for helping him kick heroin. Alonso wrote a lot of songs for Feliciano including Anacaona. Feliciano is currently the anti-drug spokesman for The Government of Puerto Rico. When Feliciano returned to music in 1972, he signed with Fania Records and recorded his debut solo album Cheo. Anacaona is on that album and it has been one of his most popular songs. Feliciano was a regular with the Fania All Stars. This comp is a good intro to Feliciano's Fania recordings. Feliciano started his own record company in 1982 and he signed with RMM Records in 1990. His latest CD Eba Say Aja is a duet album with Ruben Blades and it was released May 2012. Here's Cheo Feliciano with the Fania All Stars performing Anacaona in the 1971 film Our Latin Thing. The piano solo is by Larry Harlow and the trombone solo is by Barry Rogers.
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