Calling Oscar D'Leon a salsa superstar doesn't do justice to his stature in the world of Latin music. Over the course of his 36-year-career, the bassist and singer has acquired more nicknames than the late James Brown.
"Mr. Salsa," as the 64-year-old has been dubbed, is not just the "Lion of Salsa" but its "Tiger" as well. In addition to being the "Greatest Salsero," as salsa performers are known in Spanish, he's also the "King of the Soneros," the Latin equivalent of a free-style rapper — a singer who improvises words to fit the music and context.
Now that Brown has gone to that great stage in the sky, D'Leon may be not only the hardest-working man in salsa but in all of show business. A dynamo onstage, the Caracas-born entertainer still tours relentlessly, despite having suffered several heart attacks. Singing and dancing, it seems, are just what the doctor ordered.