Abstract
In 2002, renowned singer and composer Rubén Blades filed suit against Fania Records successor Sonido. As part of the lawsuit, Blades claimed sole authorship of “El Cantante,” the 1978 salsa classic that became the signature song of vocalist Héctor Lavoe. Blades, who wrote the initial stanzas and chorus, acknowledged that Lavoe recorded and popularized the song. He denied, however, Lavoe’s standing as coauthor despite a series of two-line pregones added by the sonero for the original recording. In this essay, I trace the “social life” (Appadurai, 1986) of “El Cantante” and illuminate the ways in which the Copyright Act of 1976 privileges Blades’ claim as sole author by reducing expressive culture to the visible signs fixed in sheet music. Ultimately, however, I show that copyright law remains unable to account for the ways Lavoe’s performances contributed to multiple and overlapping notions of ownership over “El Cantante” and the experience it narrated.
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Notes
It is important to underscore that this essay examines copyright law as it pertains to the potential rights of Lavoe as author of “El Cantante,” not his performer’s rights.
The jíbaro’s role within official narratives of cultural nationalism in Puerto Rico is examined in Dávila (1997). For analysis of the symbolic meanings of “Asalto Navideño” see Flores (2009) and Otero Garabís (2000, 2011).
The ways Lavoe is remembered have begun to shift among a current generation of artists whose music emphasizes the performance of abjection in the sonero’s repertoire. See “Revento” (“Explosion”; 2005) by Caridad de la Luz and the reggaeton tribute album Tributo urbano a Héctor Lavoe (2007).
Masucci sold the catalog in 1979 to the Uruguayan company Valsyn. He reacquired the catalog in the early 1990s. Blades has suggested that Valsyn actually functioned as a tax shelter for Masucci. See Musica Latina International, Inc v. Ruben Blades (1984).
On competing definitions of authorship, including the de minimis requirement proposed by legal scholar Melville Nimmer, see VerSteeg (1996).
For purposes of clarity, I refer to Lavoe’s rights rather than that of his estate or any third party that may claim rights to his royalties.
The list includes Larry Harlow, José “Cheo” Feliciano, Ismael Rivera, Roberto Roena, and Richard “Richie Ray” Maldonado.
On the possibilities and limits of this provision, see Understanding Copyright Law by Marshall Leaffer (2010). Also see the article by Larry Rohter, “A Copyright Victory, 35 Years Later” that appeared in the New York Times.
On the role of archive as both repository and practice, and as “a site for both critical reflection and contestation of its social, political, and historical construction,” see Hirsch and Taylor, 2012.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Victor Gallo, Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco, and the late Ralph Mercado, all of whom allowed me to interview them for this project. I also want to acknowledge the generosity of Palacio de las Artes, for the catalog of Fania Record album covers. I am grateful to Elix Colón for her meticulous and thorough research assistance; my colleagues Loan Dao, Patricia Krueger-Henry, Rosalyn Negrón, and Aminah Pilgrim for their insightful feedback when I shared this essay with our writing group; and the various members of the administrative staff at the Southern District Court of New York, the New York State Supreme Court, and the District Court of Puerto Rico for their research assistance. Lastly, I want to thank the reviewers and editorial board of Latino Studies for their revision suggestions.
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Negrón, M. A tale of two singers: Representation, copyright, and “El Cantante”. Lat Stud 13, 44–68 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2014.74
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2014.74