Santiago was born in San Juan. After residing in various neighborhoods in the city he moved to the Nemesio Canales public housing project in his youth; he was eventually nicknamed "El Grifo de Canales" ("The kinky-haired, fair-skinned-one of Nemesio Canales") by close friends and fans. Santiago was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age. He was groomed as a bolero singer (a genre he didn't feel comfortable with) and was a struggling salsa singer (at one time he sang with Rafael Cortijo) until 1971, when he joined Bobby Valentin, another type 1 diabetic, as a duo. Their first LP, "Rompecabezas", ("Puzzle") sold well, and their second LP, "Soy Boricua" ("I'm a Boricua") is considered by many to be a salsa classic and an informal patriotic anthem for Puerto Ricans. That album's title song and the Tite Curet Alonso-written "Pirata de la Mar" ("Pirate of the Seas"), both sung by Santiago, became major international hits. The duo continued making hits during the decade of the 1970s, and they were invited to form part of the Fania All Stars, an exclusive salsa conglomerate of Fania Records musicians that showcased other performers such as Celia Cruz, Rubén Blades, Pellin Rodriguez, Roberto Roena, Andy Montanez and many others.
Santiago separated and went solo apart from Valentin in 1977. In the same year he done some small work for another exclusive salsa conglomerate that was exclusive to Puerto Ricans only called the Puerto Rico All Stars (PRAS). PRAS was a rival to the Fania All Stars. The groups members changed consistently but Santiago had provided background vocals for the original established 1977 PRAS. Later in this year Santiago had a very successful pairing with producer and pianist Jorge Millet. In his solo records he improvised "soneos" (rhyming verses common to salsa) with a strong sense of alliteration, consonance and rhythm that was described once by Ruben Blades this way: "(Rhythm-wise) Marvin is capable of fitting a Mack truck into a parking space where a Volkswagen Beetle won't fit." He also used strong Puerto Rican figures of speech and slang that eventually granted him the moniker of "El Sonero del Pueblo" (The People's Sonero). He attained a major Puerto Rican hit with Cortijo's song "Fuego a la jicotea" ("(Light a) Fire to the Tortoise ( The Tortoise o Jicotea (Trachemys Stejnegeri Stejnegeri) is the unique species of native turtle that lives in pools, lagoons, dams, rivers and brooks of Puerto Rico (also he is present in Cuba). On natural history and customs of this species it is known very little.), a thinly-veiled ode to marijuana. Other hits were: "Al Son de la Lata (baila el chorizo)" -another Cortijo song-, "El Mangoneo", "La Picúa" and "Vasos de Colores".
At the height of his popularity, however, Santiago was arrested and imprisoned for cocaine possession. This was his second conviction, and the amount confiscated implied that he intended to distribute the drug. He served five out of nine years of a prison sentence. He became a born-again Christian in prison, and recorded an album, "Desde Adentro", behind bars. A minor hit spawned from the album was "Auditorio Azul" ("Blue Auditorium", based on the fact that Puerto Rico prison uniforms are usually blue in color). Blades visited him in prison, something for which Santiago would be eternally grateful to him.
After his drug conviction, Santiago's fame waned. By the time he finished his prison sentence, Jorge Millet, the musical architect of Santiago's sound, had died from a heart attack. Due to his spiritual reawakening, Santiago cleaned up the subject matter of his lyrics considerably, something that his hardcore fans did not approve of. Other notable facts that further pushed his fame's decline included the surge of merengue groups such as the Puerto Rico-based Conjunto Quisqueya and Freddie Kenton orchestras, as well as new local talent such as Eddie Santiago and Gilberto Santa Rosa, who popularized so-called "romantic salsa", which eventually displaced more urban-based subject matter in salsa songs. Santiago, however, kept a busy schedule through the 1980s, making several Latin American and inter-Puerto Rico tours and appearing on Puerto Rican television shows several times, often as a comedian in Luisito Vigoreaux's television programs. Poor vocal coaching eventually affected Santiago's vocal cords, turning it raspier with time.
Santiago's health began to decline during the 1990s, but he still went on with his music, releasing "Donde lo Dejamos" ("Where we Left It") in 1992 alongside Valentin. Later on, a "greatest hits" album of his solo songs was released.
Santiago, who adopted Marvin Hagler's "Marvelous" nickname (both because of their common first name and the fact that, at one time, his head was shaved bald like Hagler's), had begun conversations to join a Fania All Stars comeback as a tribute to Celia Cruz by the summer of 2004, but then, he became severely ill.
[edit] Death
Already having lost a leg (and later the other) to diabetes through amputation, Santiago lost vision from one eye and suffered severe kidney, heart and liver damage on the weeks prior to his death. At about noon (AST) on October 6, 2004, he died at a Bayamón hospital.
Si Dios Me Quita La Vida
Marvin Santiago Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le voy a pedir ser el ángel, que guíe tus paasos
Para evitar,
Que pueda entrar otro querer, a saborear, lo que fue, mío.
Si Dios, me quita la vida, antes qué a ti.
Le voy a pedir ser el ángel que guíe tus paasos...
Pues, si otros brazos te dan, aquel amor que te dii,
Sería tan grande mi celo que en el mismo cielo, me vuelvo a morir...
De locura me confiesas, que cuando me besas, tú eres tan mía,
Cómo las olas del maar.
Si Dios, me quita la vida, antes que a ti.
Le voy, a pedir ser el ángel, que guíe tus paasos,
Pues sí otros brazos te dan, aquel. amor que te dii,
Sería tan grande mi celo,
Que en el mismo cielo, me vuelvo a morir... FIN.
The lyrics of Marvin Santiago's song "Si Dios Me Quita La Vida" depict the fierce and intense love of the singer for his partner. The song begins by expressing the desire of the singer to be an angel sent by God to guide his loved one's steps in case he dies before her. He fears that she might fall in love with someone else after him and he wants to make sure that his love does not get dishonored. He wishes to protect her from any other lover by being the one to guide her in life. The singer even goes to the extent of saying that if his loved one falls in love with someone else, he would die a second time out of jealousy. However, the singer acknowledges that this thought is unfounded and just a moment of madness on his part. He believes that his love is unbreakable and eternal, like the waves in the sea.
The song is a beautiful, albeit slightly possessive, expression of love. The singer is willing to do anything to protect his loved one's heart, even after his death. The lyrics are infused with religious symbolism, as the singer seeks the protection of an angel sent by God. However, the intense passion of the lyrics is offset by the melancholic tone of the music, which gives the song a bittersweet quality.
Line by Line Meaning
Si Dios, me quita la vida, antes que a ti...
If God takes my life before yours...
Le voy a pedir ser el ángel, que guíe tus paasos
I will ask to be your guiding angel
Para evitar, Que pueda entrar otro querer, a saborear, lo que fue, mío.
To prevent someone else from enjoying what was once mine
Pues, si otros brazos te dan, aquel amor que te dii,
Because if someone else gives you the love I gave you,
Sería tan grande mi celo que en el mismo cielo, me vuelvo a morir...
My jealousy would be so great that I would die again in the same heaven
Esto es sólo un pensamiento, pues en mi momento;
This is just a thought, because in my moment;
De locura me confiesas, que cuando me besas, tú eres tan mía,
You confess to me in madness that when you kiss me, you are so mine,
Cómo las olas del maar.
Like the waves of the sea.
Si Dios, me quita la vida, antes que a ti.
If God takes my life before yours...
Le voy, a pedir ser el ángel, que guíe tus paasos,
I will ask to be your guiding angel
Pues sí otros brazos te dan, aquel. amor que te dii,
Because if someone else gives you the love I gave you,
Sería tan grande mi celo,
My jealousy would be so great
Que en el mismo cielo, me vuelvo a morir... FIN.
That even in heaven, I would die again... END.
Contributed by Sarah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hectorcampillay9685
Sorprendido gratamente. No lo tenía como bolerista, bueno no se podía esperar otra cosa del más grande y excelente sonero. Gracias Marvin!
@MarianoMateos-ze3ko
Mis respetos para todas sus opiniones,es una gran interpretación con sentimiento y Voz,las comparaciones no deben hacerse,peeero lógico yo apoyo a Javier Solís el mejor Bolerista y para mí su interpretación es la mejor, gracias por apoyar a su cantante, peeero voy a Javier Solís 🎉🎉🎉
@jd33.3
I love you Papito
@mecrieconclave
Que lindo!!! los boleros cantados por los salseros son lo maximo.....
@jd33.3
Miss u papi
@drocosme4600
Excelente simplemente excelente, con lágrimas en los ojos y mirando al cielo sol queda decir gracias...
@juegabillar
Hasta ahora la mejor interpretacion que he oido de esta cancion !!!!
@jd33.3
Cusoon papito
@juliacabezudo4618
Wow... hermosa!! Hacia tiempo que no la escuchaba
@joseotero1103
Marvin el mejor de los mejores