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Salvador Agron ended up serving 20 years in prison and was
released in 1979. He was described as model prisoner: he
learned to write poetry, became something of a political
activist and never again committed a violent act.
He was what the system would describe as "rehabilitated," or
what he described as "rehumanized," but nontheless remained
identified in the public imagination as "The Capeman." He
died in the Bronx on April 22, 1986, of natural causes. He
was 43 years old.
"I began thinking about the Capeman story as the basis for a
musical in 1989, while I was working on The Rhythm Of The
Saints. It felt like a very New York story with a great
musical environment; it raised the possibility of examining
changing musical styles as the story unfolded and moved back
and forth between Puerto Rico and New York.
Writing songs in a 50s style was very appealing to me, and
so was writing songs in a Latin style, which was a
significant and sort of exotic New York subculture to me
when I was growing up. Since I was working at the time with
Brazilian drums and West African guitars, it wasn't too much
of a leap to begin thinking about music from Puerto Rico."
-Paul Simon
Songs From The Capeman is the first studio album in six
years from music legend Paul Simon.
A Broadway musical version of "The Capeman" adapted by Simon
and Nobel prize winning author Derek Walcott opens January,
1998.
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THE STORY OF THE CAPEMAN comes from a sensational 1959 news
story in New York City. Late one night on August 30 of that
year, a teenage gang from the upper West Side called the
Vampires went searching for the Norsemen, an Irish gang from
Hell's Kitchen. They came upon a group of teenagers who
weren't affiliated with any gang, but happened to be in the
wrong place at the wrong time. During the rumble, 16-year
old Salvador Agron stabbed to death two of these bystanders
and fled. He was described by the other kids in the park as
a tall Puerto Rican kid, wearing a black cape with a red
lining--hence the name "The Capeman." His associate, Tony
Hernandez, who allegedly wielded an umbrella during the
fight, became known as "The Umbrella Man."
When Agron was arrested a few days later, he apparently
showed no remorse. "I don't care if I burn," he said. "My
mother could watch me." To many New Yorkers, Agron became a
symbol of evil, a symbol of a society falling apart, and he
was sentenced to die in the electric chair. At 16, he
became the youngest person ever sentenced to death in New
York state. Agron's sentence was commuted by Governor
Rockefeller after prominent citizens, including Eleanor
Roosevelt, made a plea for clemency on Agron's part. They
cited the poverty of his existence--not just the dire
economic straits of his family, but also his emotional
impoverishment.
"Like many New Yorkers, I remember the Capeman story from my
youth. It was the summer between high school and college,
and the story was all over the papers and on T.V. I
remember thinking here was a kid my age--a kid who had the
look. Salvador Agron looked like a rock and roll hoodlum;
he looked like the 1950's.
Paul discusses The Capeman project (in Real Video)
(28.8 -
56 -
100)
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