Charlie Amarante, lead vocalist of the Luis Ovalles Orchestra, passed away in Moca last Sunday evening.
The sad news was confirmed to Listín Diario Luis Ovalles: “He died last night (Sunday) according to his sister, who lives in Moca” (a municipality in the province of Espàillat in the north of the Dominican Republic).
Charlie, nicknamed “Chelo”, was a member of the Maestro Luís Ovalles Orchestra for many years and in his voice the songs “Se fue la luz”, “La fosforera”, “Se sinde el barco”, “The funnel law” , “The vagabundo”, among others which are nowadays classics of merengue.
Charlie was a brother, I gave to him all matters of relevance. I called him the main singer because his loyalty was always with me, ”remembers Ovalles, who left for the funeral in Moca on Monday morning.
Amarante, who happened to live in Moca, spent his last years fighting against alcoholism.
“Alcohol was his vice, I could never control it, no one could. We admitted him to a health center, I was looking for a psychiatrist to treat him. Luis Montalvo visited him and even he couldn’t. Then he went to Moca, where we renovated his house, but he kept drinking, ‘said Luis Ovalles.
A few years ago, Amarante was rescued from the clutches of alcohol by the then Minister of Education, Carlos Amarante Baret, who guided him through a detoxification process and later hired him in the security room of a school in Santo Domingo.
However, when he returned to Moca, he had no control over his drinking and despite always taking care of his family, it was difficult for him to control alcohol.