AL HURRICANE DIES
New Mexico icon’s career spanned more than 60 years
The “Godfather of New Mexico music” has died.
Alberto Nelson “Al Hurricane” Sanchez passed away Sunday at age 81.
His nephew, singer Lorenzo Antonio, announced his uncle’s passing on Facebook late Sunday night and the news was later confirmed on Hurricane’s own Facebook fanpage.
For more than 60 years, Hurricane performed music locally and around the world and performed alongside famous musicians, including Fats Domino, Marvin Gaye and Chuck Berry.
Hurricane released more than 30 albums. “Mi Saxophone” from 1967 includes his biggest hit, “Sentimiento.”
In the early ’60s, he took traditional Mexican folk music, electrified it, added a smidgen of rock ’n’ roll and created a unique style that remains popular. His early ’60s version of “La Bamba” still kicks better than other versions of that hit tune.
Hurricane was also the cornerstone of the Sanchez family music empire. That includes Tiny Morrie and Baby Gaby; Hurricane’s sons, Al Jr. and Jerry Dean; his daughter, Erika; and Morrie’s kids, Verónica, Rosamaria, Kristyna and Carolina Sanchez of Sparx and Lorenzo Antonio.
In addition to his music, Hurricane became known for his signature style, including an eye patch (for a injury sustained during a car crash) and a bold head of black hair up through his last performances.
Some of those appearances were in the summer of 2017 in celebration of the naming of the Civic Plaza stage in Downtown Albuquerque as the Al Hurricane Pavilion at Civic Plaza.