Fernando Echavarría Dead: Famous Dominican Musician Dies From Heart Attack Right Before Going On Stage

The Latin music world is mourning the unexpected death of famous Dominican artist Fernando Echavarría, which occurred Saturday before one of his presentations in his native island. He was 62.

Echavarría, who had been battling with diabetes since he was a child, passed away moments before going on stage from a heart attack. "We were headed to the dressing room when he suddenly fainted," his representative 'Wicho' Pichardo told Primer Impacto. "Me and two other people were holding him in our arms and tried to wake him up," he recalled.

Echavarría, who celebrated 33 years of trajectory in 2015, is known for being the singer of the iconic Dominican group La Familia Andre. He's also the creator of the "Fuson" genre, which fuses rhythms and rich afro-antillanas melodies such as samba, cumbia, plena, with other genres such as jazz and rock, based on son and merengue.

Some of his greatest hits include singles "De Oro," "Marcela" and Pato Robao," which have not only been successful in Dominican Republic, but also other Latin American countries, especially in Colombia. In fact, in 2006, Mr. Echavarría was honored at the Luna Awards in the South American country for being the international artist with most influence on Colombian music in the past 20 years. One of his biggest dreams was to collaborate with Carlos Vives.

Fernando is survived by his two children and his 90-year-old mother. He is remembered by family members, friends and colleagues, such as Juan Luis Guerra, Kinito Mendez, Eddy Herrera, Victor Victor and more. May he rest in peace.