MARC ANTHONY EMBODIES SALSA KING

Marc Anthony portrays salsa king Hector Lavoe in El Cantante.

Latin crooner Marc Anthony steps into the life of salsa king Hector Lavoe in El Cantante, portraying his unique voice and rapid rise to fame through music.

A musician himself, Marc instantly related to what it’s like to live your life on a world stage, and yearning for the recognition which is why he wanted to tell Lavoe’s story.

“Fortunately for me I didn’t have to guess what it was like to be a musician. And why in some weird way we all do this. I think we all have our pain, our longing to be heard for whatever reason. So that’s the door I walked in through. I understood him as a musician first and what his drive was. Then in analyzing his music, and the material that he chose and what he chose to sing about it was like ‘wow.’ It was reaching out in a very unique way. When everybody was talking about how great life was and go out and have a great time and just dance all night, he was talking about how painful life could be.”

It seems the Grammy award winning artist was born to play Lavoe. Marc just had to reach the right time to portray him.

“This is another one that I could be proud. This is one that I waited for, it happened at the right moment. I was mature enough to understand the responsibility of taking on such a role. And that’s why it’s been so fulfilling to me. Had I done this five, 10 years ago I definitely wouldn’t have walked away with what I’m walking away with now.”

Marc and wife Jennifer Lopez continue their creative collaboration musically as they are currently rehearsing for their upcoming tour. El Cantante opens Friday in theaters.