Anani Kaike

June 3, 2019

Today, June 3rd, would have been Ismael Quintana’s 82nd birthday. Ismael Quintana was a great singer of Salsa, however he says he perfered singing boleros . He worked with Eddie Palmeri and the Fania All Stars for many years, however he one of the lesser known singers of this music. He was also a prolific song writer. He wrote many of Eddie Palmeri’s biggest hits, including Vamonos Pa’l Monte, Adoracion, Puerto Rico and Justicia, as well a Jessica, a song to his daughter and so many other songs. Quintana was known by those who knew him best as very humble and very focused on his family. While being a singer he also held down a regular job by day, we was well into his 60’s before he retired from his regular job. He is also one of the few who never became involved with drugs of any kind, he even quit smoking after he heard it could cause cancer.

Ismael Pat Quintana was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His mother had gone back to Puerto Rico to visit her family, while she was 8 months pregnant with him. According to Ismael when she tried to board the boat she had come on they said she couldn’t because she was about to give birth to him, and because the boat was in less than perfect condidtion, he was born several days later. When he was 10 days old his mother took him back to New York, he was the only one of his siblings to be born on the island. His father was a very large inspiration to him, he says that his father would bring home the latest records every Friday.

Quintana began performing while still in high school. He was soon hired by a local band, as a bongosero. One night, though he decided to sing, he remembers that in the first quote “We did not have a vocalist and everything we played was instrumental. It was a very large orchestra; we had five saxophones, four trumpets, and rhythm. But we did not have a singer. One day we were doing a dance at the Taft Hotel, in New York, and I went to the microphone and, trembling, I sang a song. When I finished the song, the [guys] told me: “Ismael, how well you sing! You’re going to be a singer. ” Well, I was an instant singer.” He says that his greatest inspirations were El Trio Los Panchos, Tito Rodriguez, Vicentico Valdes, Vitin Aviles and Fernando Alvarez. He recorded on Tito Rodriguez’s last album ‘Palladium Memories’, singing on chorus. He remembers talking to Tito, shortly before he [Tito] died “When we left the studio, we walked to the parking lot – because we had the car in the same parking lot in the downtown area of ​​New York – and for the first time I spoke with him. We talked a little and we made friends.” After Tito died “Then Louie Ramírez, may he rest in peace – who was musical director of Tito Rodríguez at the end of his career -, said to me: “Do you know that Tito admired you very much, Ismael?” And I said: “Tito admired me? “You know, since we did not have friendship, I had no way of knowing that. And Louie told me: “He told me that he admired your way of singing a lot, your phrasing,…and that you did many things that he admired in you”. That was a nice surprise, because I admired Tito very much, and I never thought that he even knew that I was alive.”

As luck would have it Eddie Palmeri and Quintana went to the same school, PS 39, in the South Bronx. One day, Eddie heard Ismael auditioning for Orlando Marin’s band, at that moment Eddie said to himself, “The day I do my orchestra, that’s going to be my singer”. Shortly thereafter Eddie formed a band and hired Quintana as his singer. Quintana had just married his wife, Yolanda Quintana, after finishing high school, they remained married for the rest of Quintana’s life. At first it was very difficult for Quintana to find songs from his repertoire of 30 boleros, 16 merengues and many, many Guaguancos and Cha, Cha, Chas, that would work with Eddie’s orchestra. Another issue was that Quintana was only used to performing with Quintets and Sextets, and all of a sudden was performing with Palmeri’s large orchestra. The Palmeri Orchestra included four trumpets, Quintana remembers when he first came to the studio to record with Palmeri, “And, when those trumpets sounded, and I heard that orchestra, I felt like lost, like I did not belong there.  “What am I doing here, my God!”. “I do not belong here. What do I do here? ” Eddie had faith in me, I sang, and I did what I could.” 

Justicia (1969), caused a large controversy, because of it’s lyrics that spoke of discrimination, social injustices and inequality. This song was written by both Quintana and Palmeri.

Quintana joined the Fania record label in the early 70’s. Jerry Massuci promised Quintana that he would have complete freedom over what was recorded, and after speaking to Eddie, he signed a contract with Fania. He launched his career with Fania with a song he composed, Mi Debilidad. His first album was called simply Ismael Quintana, followed by Lo Que Estoy Viviendo.

Quintana recorded many, many sucessful hits with Fania, including Aqui Traigo Mi Montuno, El Meastro de Rumberos, Piano Man, Mi Debilidad and Blusita Colora. Both him and Hector Lavoe were not able to perform at Yankee Stadium in 1973 and remained in the dressing rooms, as they waited to perform. The concert ended abruptly, when all 45,000 people from the audience (four times as many as expected), ran onto the grass, grass that a baseball match was going to be played on the next day. Jerry Massuci had put $50,000 on the grass just in case the grass got damaged, he had to pay thousands more to repair the grass. Quintana toured around the world with Fania, including Japan, Africa, France, Central and South America. He also says “I never in my life touched a drug of any kind. In any moment. I had it around me all my life. I do not drink I now, from time to time, I drink a beer socializing. But I’ve never touched a drug of any kind, thank God.” He was definitely one of the few that stood out of the drugs that were killing and consuming so many at the time, including some of the biggest stars Hector Lavoe and Ismael Rivera.

In the early 2000’s Ismael and his family moved to Colorado. In April 2003, Quintana underwent a quadruple bypass surgery, he says he had never had any health issues. One day as he was running, he felt short of breath and tired. He went to his doctor and found out that he had extremely high blood pressure and could have a heart attack any moment. Four arteries in his heart had to be repaired. He lost a lot of weight, had no appetite had no energy and had trouble sleeping for months after the surgery. The song he wrote called El Juez Final he credits with helping him through that very difficult time. He says that the song helped his health improve and he got his appetite back again. He returned to music several years later.

In 2014 Quintana semi-retired due to health issues. Ismael Quintana died on April 16, 2016 of Heart Failure. He was taken back to Ponce, Puerto Rico and buried in Cementario La Piedad. His daughter Jessica plays Flute and Piano and sons Ismael jr. and David play Congas and Bongos.

Ismael Quintana was a truly great singer and composer, who is less widely acknowledged than he should be. May Ismael Quintana never be forgotten. May he countinue to bless and guide his family. And finally may younger generations always remember him and his music, may his music always be passed on to the future generations. Feliz Cumpleanos (Happy Birthday) to Ismael Quintana.