LA DESCARGA LIVES ON

MIAMI RADIO ICON LEO VELA PASSES AWAY

August 26,2021 / Alex Gutierrez

Leo Vela….. he was not only that voice you heard on the radio , he was your friend and to many of us in the music industry here in South Florida , he was our teacher. He used his raspy. Seductive voice as a musical instrument. Every word was a note , every sentence was a song. Sometimes we tuned in to his station more for the  voice than the music. He was one of us , a true Miami boy , he partied at the same places we did , we drank and ate with him……man, he was the party. He was part of the original Super Q team , the groundbreaking station that catered to first generation latins like myself.

He was born on November 20, 1952 and began his career on  Miami’s 96x , later moving to Super Q. and then as program director on WRTO. In the mid 90s along with “ The Chief” Raymond Hernandez he revived the Super Q format. Later again with the Chief he catapulted Salsa 98.3 Fm into the #1 position in local markets with a mixture of styles that catered specifically to assimilated Miami Hispanics. Introducing several new genres to South Florida.

The \” Chief\” Raymond Hernadez

SVP Of Programming West Palm Beach, Florida

\” My Brother My Homeskillet. You taught me so much. Im forever grateful that we crossed paths and became instant brothers. I will never forget you and your many lessons I practice daily. Love you! \”

Personally, I\’ll never forget what he once told me back in the late 70s \” We love music, wherever we are , whatever we are doing , music will always be part of our life, it\’s why we were put on this earth.

Zeta 92 in the mid 2000s gave him a nighttime slot which would be his last on air radio gig.  After that  Leo became the host of major Disco and Freestyle concerts around South Florida. After a stroke, which affected his speech, Leo retired and spent his remaining days at home attending to various other health issues. He passed away on August 26, 2021. He will always be a part of Miami\’s musical history .