Hall of Fame Songwriter Dies of Stroke: Cheo Zorrilla Was 75

Dominican singer-songwriter Cheo Zorrilla, who penned songs such as “Apocalipsis” and “Al nacer cada enero,” has died.

Zorrilla recently passed away at the age of 75 after suffering a stroke, Valerio de León, president of the General Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (SGACEDOM), confirmed, according to Diario Libre.

“Cheo was one of the great Dominican composers. With his death, Dominican society, the country, loses one of its best composers,” de León said. “Cheo represented the highest values in composition. A consecrated composer, with good lyrics, good melodies, who managed to greatly imgpact music… Cheo Zorrilla was a great composer and an excellent person. As composers, we feel very sorry for his passing. He was a man who could continue enriching the national repertoire.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Diario Libre (@diariolibre)

Born Jesús Antonio Zorrilla in Tamayo, Bahoruco province in 1950, per De Último Minuto, Zorrilla’s interest in music sparked at a young age. By the time he was 13, he was already performing as a trumpet player in his community’s musical band. He would go on to become one of the most recognized composers in the Dominican Republic, with his songs recorded by national and international artists, such as Danny Rivera, Chucho Avellanet, Basillo, Fernando Casado, and more.

Throughout his storied career, Zorrilla made a total of 26 appearances at the OTI Festival, representing the Dominican Republic at the international song competiton. He won second place twice – first in 1977 for his song “Al nacer cada enero,” performed by Casada, and then again in 1980 for “Olvidar olvidar,” sung by Tati Salas. He is also well-remembered for songs such as “Mi amado cirineo” and “Los hombres de rabia lloran.”

He made history in 2016 when he became the first Dominican to be inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in Miami. He was inducted alongside Draco Rosa, Claudia Brant, Los Temerarios, Alejandro Jaen, and Miguel Luna.

More recently, Zorrilla’s health was put in the spotlight when singer-songwriter José Antonio Rodríguez took to Instagram to ask for prayer for the musician, writing, “My prayers and the prayers of an entire people are with you and your recovery, dear friend. We are all with you. You will come out stronger!”

Following his passing, others in the music industry paid tribute to Zorrilla, whom Pochy Familia called “one of the best composers the DR has ever produced… We should all feel happy to have had Cheo with that wonderful pen, We are very sorry that he left us, but we will always remember him.”