Marvin Santiago (December 26, 1947 - October 6, 2004) was a Puerto Rican salsa singer who became famous all across Latin America during the 1970s.

Santiago was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age. He was a struggling salsa singer 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" ("Im a Boricua") is considered by many to be a salsa classic. That album's title song and "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 70s', and they were invited to form part of The Fania All Stars, an exclusive salsa orchestra owned by Fania records and which included other performers such as Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, Pellin Rodriguez, Roberto Rohena, Andy Montanez and many others.

After the orchestra split, Santiago's fame waned. Other notable facts that further pushed his fame decline included the surge of such merengue groups as Conjunto Quisqueya and the Freddie Kenton orquestra, as well as new, local talent such as Eddie Santiago and Gilberto Santa Rosa. Marvin 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.

His health began to decline during the 1990s, but he still went on with his music, releasing the "Donde lo Dejamos" ("Where we Left") CD in 1992 alongside Valentin. Later on, a greatest hits CD of Santiago was released.

Santiago, who was nicknamed by his fans "Marvin Hagler" both because of his first name and the fact that he was bold headed, 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.

He was blind from one eye and suffered several kidney, heart and liver damage on the weeks prior to his death.

Santiago was arrested for illegal drug use during his career; he later became a Christian.

At about 12 PM EST on October 6, 2004, he passed away at a Bayamón hospital.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans