Death Notice: Vincent A. Alonso (Vinnie Dark), 1940 – 2015


obituaries-page-header-002
HOME | CONTACT | SERVICE INFO | OBITUARY | ART | PHOTOS |


October 15, 2019 – My uncle on my mother’s side, Carlos VILLEGAS Cruz, passed last week in Puerto Rico at the age of 90 and I remember all the stories my father told me about him. The family that I grew up with is slowly disappearing from me.

Aug 5, 2015 – 1:34 a.m. PST I wanted to call my father today, I wanted to talk to him, and all I could do is look at his contact in my phone, dial his number and listen to his voice mail. My best conversations are with him, and I wish to share in dialogue with Vinnie.

June 21, 2015 – 10:14 p.m. PST
We miss you Vinnie! Happy Father’s Day. You were also great to me, so sorry others didn’t get to experience what we had. It is really sad but I will pass on what we shared to my two sons and I do it everyday. Thanks pops for all your love.

Alex

May 28, 2015 – 9:05 p.m. PST
I am back in Los Angeles and I want to thank everyone who shared a story with me about my father. I am thankful for that. Vinnie Dark was laid to rest with military honors on May 26, 2015. My father would have appreciated the US Marines present at his future grave site. My work continues with my father’s possessions, dealing with his financials, and closing his accounts. I had a dream last night that that none of this really happened, then I woke up.

Alex

May 25, 2015 – 10:23 p.m. EST
There will be a gathering after the burial of my father at Taller Boricua Art Gallery located at 1680 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10029, between 105th & 106th Streets back in East Harlem. All are welcomed and food/refreshments will be served. I anticipate that I will be back at Taller Boricua no later than 4:30 p.m on Tuesday May 26 after the burial in Queens and I will be there for at least 2 – 3 hours.

If you have any questions, you can contact us.

Alex

May 21, 2015 – 10:53 p.m. EST
I arrived into New York this morning at 5:00 a.m., taking the red eye flight from Los Angeles. I went straight to my father’s apartment to start cleaning and gathering his possessions. As soon as I walked up to the street from the subway, it really hit me hard, that my father was not there to great me. I have been making this trip to New York, for 20 years, since 1995, and the realty that Vinnie was not standing there waiting for my arrival really set in.

Alex

May 20, 2015 – 5:10 p.m. PST
I am leaving Los Angeles this evening and will be in New York by the morning. I also updated the Service page with new information on the services. There will be a same-day visitation of Vinnie, from noon – 12:45 p.m. and then his body will be taken one-block away to the chapel for the 1:00 p.m. service. I invite all those that knew him to the viewing and I will be there before Noon.

Alex

May 20, 2015 – 1:18 a.m. PST
Funeral services for Vinnie have been set for Tuesday May 26, 2015. All the information is posted on the FUNERAL SERVICE link. We have not decided if there will be a reception afterward. Will figure that out on Wednesday morning. My wife, Stefani has really been helpful in the planning for my father’s service. I am very grateful for having her in my life because I would not have been able to do this all without her.

Alex

May 19, 2015 – 12:41 a.m. PST
When you are as close to a family member as my dad and I were, it hurts really hard. No number of issues or disagreements would ever get in our way. Parents and sons/daughters should always stay in communication, regardless of issues. A parent can help you become stronger, smarter and wiser so do not let slip away an opportunity to love your family regardless of issues.

Alex

May 18, 2015 – 8:33 p.m. PST
My father received a letter from the White House during the Clinton presidency for a tryptic painting they had on display. Letter was signed by Tipper Gore, the wife of Vice President Al Gore.

letterfromtipper

May 18, 2015 – 5:48 p.m. PST
My Dad at an art exhibit during the 1970s when I was just a kid. Click on image to enlarge.

Vinnie, 1970s

Vinnie, 1970s

May 18, 2015 – 4:22 p.m. PST
It looks like we will have the service for my father, Vincent Alonso, in the East Harlem community where he lived. There are three locations and I will decide on one tonight. All family and friends are welcomed. We will also determine the exact date by tonight or tomorrow. My contact number is below and my email address is:
contact

May 18, 2015 – 12:27 a.m. PST
If anyone needs to contact me, please call me at Three 2 Three, then 68one then nine 97 nine. I will be making travel plans to NYC later today, not sure what day I am leaving.

May 18, 2015 – 12:21 a.m. PST
It always saddened me that my four siblings did not get to experience our dad the way I did. Although many had tumultuous or not so easy relations with him, I loved this man so much and he helped me out in so many ways. All my friends growing up always thought my dad was the coolest dad they ever met. He made sure I went to school and he prepared me for my days at the University of Southern California, where I eventually graduated from.

Alex

May 17, 2015 – 11:59 p.m. PST
I shot video of my dad, in early April 2015. On this day we were in the Bronx, reminiscing about the old neighborhood. He had a great memory for dates and locations, and now I feel lost without being able to call and ask questions, like I always did.

May 17, 2015 – 11:55 p.m. PST
I last saw my dad, Vinnie, on April 6, 2015 in Spanish Harlem where we enjoyed lunch at a delicious pizza place, La Nostra Pizza on 110th (Tito Puente) & 2nd Ave. I am glad that my daughter, Sofia, 13, accompanied me on this trip too, because she was able to spend some quality time with her grandfather. I am kicking myself for not taking my two other sons, 9 & 11, with me. I should have spent the extra money on plane tickets, but I thought there was going to be another opportunity later this year. I hope my sons understand when they get older.

Alex

_MG_9859-op

May 17, 2015 – 9:19 p.m. PST
My father, Vincent A Alonso also known as Vinnie Dark, passed away on Thursday May 14, 2015 from heart failure in East Harlem, New York. He just turned 75-years on May 9, 2015. I live Los Angeles, California and will be heading to New York this week to plan a service for my father. This has been overwhelming for me and I am not sure where to start, but I want to have a service for him in New York and I will know more on Monday morning what I plan to do.

Alex

7 Comments for “Death Notice: Vincent A. Alonso (Vinnie Dark), 1940 – 2015”

    • Olga Cintron

      My sincerest condolences to you and your family. I was sorry to hear about Vinnie’s passing. I new Vinnie for quite some time. He lived in my neighborhood, we saw each other a lot. We both spoke about the arts, and his passion for the arts every time we met. He and my daughter also had long chats when they would bump into each other in the neighborhood. He loved my daughter a lot, gave her great advice about her artwork and how she should continue her stulives and work on her trade.

      Vinnie actually came to my home with his friend Eliezer on my birthday in February this year and we had a wonderful evening together with lots of friends, eating and dancing and talking…He gifted me with one of his beautiful paintings which I loved. Your dad had such great talent. Such a kind, giving and loving soul… May he rest in peace knowing he was loved, and that he was a GREAT ARTIST… It was a pleasure being his friend.

      Please let us know when the viewing will take place.

      Again, my condolences to you and your family.

      Sincerely,

      Olga Cintron

      • Thank you Olga for sharing that. My dad was a great artist and I am so happy there are people out there like you who appreciated him.
        I will let you know of the services. Working on that now from Los Angeles, CA.

  1. Nephew, Renny

    I remember in 1987 when I was an actor and had decided to move to LA. My mom told me that i had an uncle, who was an actor. She showed me a composite of Vinnie Dark. He had 4 different characters on an 8X10. I was really impressed, so , I called him and we spoke for the first time. We talked about the industry and family, that I never knew existed. When I arrived in LA, I finally met my uncle Vinnie. What an amazing person ! The talent he had, not just acting, but, writing and incredible artist. He gave me several paintings over the years, which still hang in my home. He encourage and supported my acting career. he even got me a part in a play at the Actors Studio in LA. He came to every play I performed in. Once when the critics gave me a bad review, for a play I did at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Vinnie said” Ignore the critics, u were great”. No one could tell a story like him and that’s what being an actor is all about. Getting people to listen to you and only you at that moment. He had that gift. I saw him on April 4, 2015 at my moms house. His son Alex was in N.Y. and my kids were going to meet their cousin Sofia for the first time. We took photos, ate good food and just hung with family. I watched my mom talk with her younger brother Vinnie as my kids got to know Sofia. Alex and I talked, I was just in LA in february, for the Superbowl. He tooked my to breakfast and then we went to the mall and took more photos. As we get older, we lose people that we love. It’s natural. What’s important is the memories of those people and the impact they had in your life. I will miss my Uncle Vinnie. I wish we could’ve spent more time together, but, the time we shared, I will never forget. RIP Uncle Vinnie. Love Renny.

  2. Rudy Gutierrez```````````````````````````````````````````

    Goodbye to an Artist! I say farewell to one of my earliest artistic influences. He wasn’t famous or renowned but I remember when I was a young kid seeing my Uncle Vinnie Dark doing his painting thing at his easel creating the surreal images of his mind and heart. I was deeply influenced. I saw what could come from within and the possibilities. I saw the beauty of it and I am forever grateful to him. What I didn’t immediately see was the pain, the obsession and life that he seemed to take on and own until later and how others could be hurt by it. I swore that I would not bow down to the pained artist life and claim it but that I would use the pain and beauty, the Sacred and Profane hand in hand to paint my reality. We artists are at heart, creatures of solitude that many don’t understand but we are not created in a vacuum, we come from a long line of family, friends and Brother and Sister artists at the root and we flower because of them. Paint on Vinnie Dark wherever you be. If I am a flower it surely has something to do with you being here in that basement studio painting your reality. I barely knew you but I did. Paint on, Vinnie Alonso Dark, paint on. Sending light to your dark….

  3. Doreen

    My heart goes out to you Alex. Last month when I was looking at the photos from Virginia’s service, I was struck by how much you look like your father. It was a blessing that you were able to spend time with him last month. Renny is speaking truth when he said Vinnie was a great story teller. I have fond memories of listening to him talk about Alonso family history. He knew something about everyone. He even had stories to tell about my father who I never got to know. You are very much like him in that sense Alex. All the good parts of him live on in you…like your smile. He’s always gonna be with you.

  4. Thank you family for your kind words of my father. I miss him right now, because we would talk for at least 1 hour, sometimes two about everything. I will miss most of all our conversations, late night calls, and reminiscing about the past. I will really miss that.

Leave a Reply

Log in |
  • Prison Gangs
  • Other Cities
  • Los Angeles Police Gang Enforcement Initiaitives – 2007
  • SG Music
  • Crips
  • Bloods
  • Asian Gangs
  • Forums
  • Shop
  • Injunctions
  • contact
  • Resources