Héctor Maisonave
Héctor Maisonave is a music entrepreneur and talent manager. During a sixty-year career, from 1954 through 2014, Maisonave organized over 7,000 Latin music concerts in all five continents.[1][2]
In 2010, in New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, he received their Lifetime Achievement Award for leadership and contributions to the world of music.[3]
Early years
Maisonave was born on June 30, 1930 in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, where he attended Abraham Lincoln High School. In 1947, his family moved to New York City, where he graduated from William John Gaynor High School in 1948.[1]
Borinqueneers
In 1951, Maisonave was drafted into the U.S. Army and served with the 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers.[1] Maisonave participated in action in the Korean War for three years and, in 2014, the Borinqueneers were awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal for their sacrifice and service to the American people.[4][5]
In 1954, Maisonave was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, and returned to New York City.[1]
Music promotion and talent management
Upon his return to New York, Maisonave studied at the Delhente Institute of Technology and graduated with a degree in Musicology.[1] Immediately thereafter he began organizing Salsa music concerts in Las Villas, a vacation resort area in Newburgh and Plattekill, New York. He also organized concerts on Hudson River boats to Bear Mountain, and night cruises called "Moonlight on the Hudson." [3]
Maisonave also organized concerts in Zaire during the 1974 boxing match known as The Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, a concert in Honolulu with Celia Cruz, and concerts in London, Buenos Aires, and nearly every country in South America. During his sixty-year career, from 1954 through 2014, Maisonave organized over 7,000 concerts in all five continents.[1]
However, it all started with those early bus trips to Las Villas, where people could dance to their favorite Salsa stars in a friendly and congenial setting. According to Maisonave, "for $10 you got the bus trip, arroz con gandules, pork, ice cream and dancing!" [3]
 Private interview (in Spanish) with Héctor Maisonave |
Maisonave also managed and/or promoted the musical careers of Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, El Gran Combo, Cortijo y su Combo, Tito Rodriguez, La India, Joe Cuba, Willie Colón, Ismael Rivera, Sonora Ponceña, and dozens of others.[1]
Maisonave's management of Hector's Lavoe's musical career yielded several classic Salsa albums including El Sabio (1980), Qué Sentimiento (1981), Vigilante (1983), Reventó (1985) and Strikes Back (1987).[6]
Casa Blanca Club
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New Jersey Assemblyman Angel Fuentes honors Héctor Maisonave on his 2013 birthday |
Maisonave was also a dance club owner in New York City. In the late 1970s he owned the Casa Blanca club on 1674 Broadway, on the site of the old Birdland club. With a music format that included popular radio DJs and four live bands nightly, Maisonave doubled the club attendance.[7]
Casa Blanca often drew crowds larger than Studio 54 - its neighbor just two blocks away - with lines that extended down Broadway, and spilled onto West 52nd Street.[7]
Recent work
Maisonave continues to be active in the music world. His company - Maisonave Management - lists talent booking, concert promotions, music publishing and copyrighting amongst its many current services.
Over the past few years Maisonave has promoted concerts for Grupo Manía, Tito Rojas and José Alberto.[8] He also continues to manage the musical careers of La India and Tito Nieves.
India is set to release her tenth studio album with Top Stop Music.[9]
Awards and Recognition
The following is a partial listing of Maisonave's professional citations and awards over the years:[1]
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Lincoln Center (2010)
- Medal of Honor, Senate of Puerto Rico (2010)
- Philadelphia City Council Proclamation (2012)
- Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia Puerto Rican Day Parade (2013)
- Grand Marshal of the New York City Three Kings Day Parade (2014)
- Grammy Award (received jointly with Grupo Manía)
- Billboard, ACE, and Lo Nuestro awards
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 “Orgullo Boricua en Filadelfia,” El Sol Latino Newspaper, August 22, 2014.
- ↑ "Maisonave, un Histórico en la Industria Musical Latina" Mega Latina FM, January 15, 2014. Retrieved 9/1/14.
- 1 2 3 "Salsa thanks Héctor Maisoneve," New York Daily News, January 26, 2010.
- ↑ Obama honors Puerto Rican Infantry Regiment with Congressional Gold Medal, Washington Post, June 10, 2014.
- ↑ Obama awards Borinqueneers Congressional Medal of Honor, NBC News, June 10, 2014.
- ↑ Jorge J. Muñiz Ortiz, “Representante de Lavoe relata sufrimientos y anécdotas del legendario salsero,” Terra Networks, S.A., September 7, 2007
- 1 2 Billboard Magazine, October 27, 1979. Retrieved 9/1/14.
- ↑ "Héctor Maisonave: 60 Años en el Negocio de la Musica," Mega Latina FM, July 1, 2011. Retrieved 9/1/14.
- ↑ "La Salsera India Firma con Top Stop Music de Sergio George," Mega Latina FM, January 15, 2014. Retrieved 9/1/14.