On a warm late summer Saturday afternoon in East Harlem, Angel Rodriguez takes a shot of brandy and then struts to the center of the stage at La Marqueta, an old marketplace under the 116th Street elevated tracks at Park Avenue in East Harlem. As he looks out, he can see his longtime fans, rows of the grey haired regulars in their folding chairs, sipping drinks, eating homemade food, and commenting on dancers spinning by them. Different bands take turns playing old school salsa on most summer weekend afternoons here, paying homage to legendary artists like Hector Lavoe and Willie Colón and the genre that was born a block away in the heart of El Barrio.
For Rodriguez, 49, the lead singer of Orquesta Lirica, this is the best part of his week. He grabs the microphone and shouts, “Buenas noches mi gente!” His fans applaud wildly. Many of them have known him since he was a young boy and have watched him perform regularly with the band for more than 20 years. When he sings his favorite song, Lavoe’s El Cantante,” the Singer, the old marketplace seems to come to life.
But the magic that he creates and enjoys on stage during his weekend performances at La Marqueta doesn’t pay the bills. Like many artists, Rodriguez is unable to earn enough money as a performer. He has worked at dozens of different mostly low-paying jobs in the last twenty years to try and make ends meet. He is facing a new struggle now since he just lost his most recent job as a security guard and it is becoming more difficult for him to find work in the city’s deteriorating economy.
“My whole life has been a struggle,” Rodriguez said.
Until two months ago, Rodriguez was a security guard at the Met Life Building in downtown Manhattan. Without warning, he said that he was laid off after only four months because of downsizing. Days before, Angel separated from his fourth wife; she threw him out of their home.
Jobless, wifeless and homeless, Rodriguez was forced to move back home with his 72-year-old mother in the projects on 112th and Third Avenue. His son, Jovani, age 25, also lives there.
“I’m back to square one,” Rodriguez repeats, again and again in an interview at his mother’s kitchen table in what seems miles away from his music and other life as a singer.
Growing up in El Barrio, Rodriguez has always loved music. He learned to play the trombone, the congas, and as a teenager, he began to sing. He followed his older brothers, also musicians, to watch different bands around town. At 17, Rodriguez watched his dreams of becoming a famous salsa star slip away when he learned that he and his high school sweetheart were going to be teenage parents. One semester from graduating high school, Rodriguez never received his diploma, and enlisted in a cycle of unfulfilling blue-collar jobs to provide for his growing family. Today, Rodriguez has seven children, five grandchildren and four ex-wives. But his salsa dreams never faded. At 49 he’s still waiting for the big break.
After losing his latest job and seeing his marriage collapse, Rodriguez has had to cut costs. He cancelled his cell phone, which he still keeps charged in his pocket. He began using food stamps. He has applied for Medicaid.
Though his youngest child is twenty years, Rodriguez owes $8,000 in child support. With this debt, Rodriguez is afraid to open a bank account because he said city and state officials would take any money in it for his child support obligations.
