A tale of two singers: Representation, copyright, and 'El Cantante'

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 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.