Tito Nieves was Handcuffed to a bed because of Cocaine

Latin superstar Tito Nieves, nicknamed ‘the Pavarotti of Salsa’ was very brave in exploring his difficult life during an interview he held in Madrid, Spain, with the reporter Víctor Sánchez Rincones in which he speaks freely about his fight with obesity, and on cocaine abuse nearly destroying his life. When asked about his current health condition Tito answered, “Very well, thanks to my God; I’m hanging there. The most important thing is that I have no diabetes.”

The Pavarotti of Salsa also commented on his suffering when he was overweight. He said that the real problem was not his suffering, but the things he had to digest in order to control his weight. “I was taking an average of nine pills a day; five to control the disease, two to control my blood pressure, and one for my cholesterol,” Nieves said. He also commented on his heart condition, “My heart was all right even when I was very fat. It has been nineteen years since I stopped abusing my body. The last time I smoked a cigarette and got myself a pass of cocaine.” 

Nieves also explained the reason why he fell into drugs, “At that time I was one of the Salsa pioneers who gave in to drugs. I entered the circle of fame in ’78. He continues, “In 1986, I crossed the border of addiction and realized I had to stop or I would end up in a grave.” Tito Nieves rehabilitated with much pain, great sacrifice, and by following five different treatments. “The final one was in 1990 and it lasted until 1991,” he said.  

Tito also commented on the effects his drug abuse had on his family, “You would think that when you have a drug problem your family won’t suffer much, but they suffer a lot. Both the parents as the siblings suffer because they see a loved one destroying himself.” ‘El Maestro’ Nieves said that the worst part of his addiction was “seeing myself handcuffed to a bed of an asylum. I had snorted cocaine, drank for three days straight, and went completely mad.”

This is a clip of Tito Nieves before 2004: Luis Vazquez can be seen dancing together with Joby (they divorced in 2004).

The multi Grammy Award winner and one of the pioneers of singing Salsa music in English said that he cut his intestine instead of getting a gastric balloon in order to lose weight. He said he used to weigh 376 pounds (170 kilos) and that he now weighs 252 pounds (114 kilos). Tito comments on his mindset when he decided to do the surgery, “Although I was financially okay - I had material things - there was still loneliness in me, a void. It doesn’t matter if you have millions of dollars when you’re still stuck in a wheelchair and have no health. I did the operation because I realized that if I would continue to follow that path I would die sooner or later. The doctor who did the surgery on me told my wife before I was interned that my liver had been infected by the amount of pills I took. He said that I came at the right moment to the surgery room, or else I would not be here to tell the tale.  

The following is a clip of Tito Nieves singing live in Paris, 2010