Rey Ruiz
Encyclopedia
Rey Ruiz is a salsa
singer from Cuba
. Ruiz reached international fame across Latin America
, Europe
and among Hispanic
music fans in the United States
.
n television
as a child, singing typical children's songs. Ruiz had his parents' full support, he was later on enrolled in Havana's Conservatorio de Música school
. Eventually, Ruiz made his way to headlining a show at the Habana Libre Hotel. (The former Havana Hilton, renamed to Havana Libre after Castro's revolution).
Rey Ruiz performed in the well known "Cabaret Tropicana" music group. During a Cabaret Tropicana tour in the Dominican Republic
, Ruiz defected, leaving the group to join some friends in the United States
. Once established there, Ruiz began to gain fame as a solo salsa singer.
It took Ruiz three years after he arrived in the United States for him to release his first CD. The self-titled "Rey Ruiz" was produced by Sony Records
and it earned Ruiz celebrity in such places as Puerto Rico
, the Dominican Republic, Panama
and Venezuela
. The album also earned Ruiz a number of billboard
and Premios Lo Nuestro awards, and it was a platinum album. Rey Ruiz was named the "salsa singer of the year" for 1993 by a prestigious salsa music magazine and was known for hits such as "No Me Acostumbro" and "Amiga".
Ruiz's initial success as a singer translated into small screen success as well, as he was hired by Pepsi
, Miller beer and his studio company, Sony, to film commercials announcing their brand. Ruiz's second album was a various artists' compilation dedicated to salsa singers from the 1960s and 1970s. The tribute album was named "Los Soneros de Hoy". loosely translated into "Today's (salsa) performers".
Also in 1993, Ruiz released his second album. "Mi Media Mitad" ("My Other Half") was a large hit in the United States and in Europe, once again, making the Billboard hits list in the States, and topping the European charts. "Mi Media Mitad" became Ruiz's second consecutive platinum album, and it helped make Ruiz popular in Colombia
as well, with a single, "Si te Preguntan" ("If They Ask You") becoming a major hit song. Soon after that album's release, Ruiz made his debut at New York's Madison Square Garden
.
Ruiz's third album, "En Cuerpo y Alma
" ("Body and Soul"), was released in 1995. This was Ruiz's third platinum album in a row; his songs "Estamos Solos" ("We Are Alone") and "Vuelve de Nuevo Conmigo" ("Return Once Again With Me") were international hits, and many salsa experts consider this album to be Ruiz's most important release.
In 1996, with the collaboration of famed Colombia
n songwriter Omar Estefano and of Ricardo Quijano, Ruiz released his fourth consecutive platinum album, named "Destino" ("Destiny"). One of the most publicly acclaimed songs in that album was "Miénteme Otra Vez" ("Lie to me Again").
His next album, 1997's "Porque es Amor' ("Because it is Love") failed to have the commercial success Ruiz's four previous releases had, ending Ruiz's streak of platinum albums at four. It did, however, contain three major hit songs, including the title song, as well as "Mi Angel" ("My Angel") and "Tú no Sabes" ("You Don't Know").
In 1998, Ruiz released a greatest hits CD, named "Exitos del Rey" ("Rey's Hits", a name which can also be interpreted as "The King's hits", since Rey means king in Spanish
). By then, Ruiz owned a recording company; his next album, "Ya Ves Quien Soy" ("Now You See Who I Am"), becoming one of the first CDs to be released by Ruiz's Luna Negra ("Dark Moon") record label.
"Ya Ves Quien Soy" was another commercial success for Ruiz, particularly in Brazil
. Ruiz collaborated with Brazilian singer José Augusto in this album, when the pair recorded a duet song, "Siempre Mía" ("Always Mine").
In 2000, Ruiz joined the Bohemia Records label, releasing "Fenomenal" ("Phenomenal") under that label. In 2004, he released Mi Tentacion.
In 2008 Ruiz fulfilled a lifetime dream by performing on stage with some of his closest musical colleagues at the Adrian Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Along with Grammy Winner Arturo Sandoval, Objectivo Fama winner Marlon and Los Tres de La Habana, this musical collaboration was recorded for a soon to be released DVD. Ruiz signed on to a new recording contract which brings him back to his original label Sony/BMG with a highly anticipated album being produced by Cuco Pena one of Puerto Rico's premier musical producers and also credited for producing a Grammy Award Winning Album for Marc Anthony.
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
singer from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Ruiz reached international fame across Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and among Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
music fans in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Biography
Rey Ruiz demonstrated an interest in becoming a salsa singer since he was a small child. Aside from an apparently normal childhood, Ruiz made his debut as a performer at a very young age; he was often showcased on CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
as a child, singing typical children's songs. Ruiz had his parents' full support, he was later on enrolled in Havana's Conservatorio de Música school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
. Eventually, Ruiz made his way to headlining a show at the Habana Libre Hotel. (The former Havana Hilton, renamed to Havana Libre after Castro's revolution).
Rey Ruiz performed in the well known "Cabaret Tropicana" music group. During a Cabaret Tropicana tour in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Ruiz defected, leaving the group to join some friends in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Once established there, Ruiz began to gain fame as a solo salsa singer.
It took Ruiz three years after he arrived in the United States for him to release his first CD. The self-titled "Rey Ruiz" was produced by Sony Records
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and it earned Ruiz celebrity in such places as Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Dominican Republic, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. The album also earned Ruiz a number of billboard
Billboard Music Award
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
and Premios Lo Nuestro awards, and it was a platinum album. Rey Ruiz was named the "salsa singer of the year" for 1993 by a prestigious salsa music magazine and was known for hits such as "No Me Acostumbro" and "Amiga".
Ruiz's initial success as a singer translated into small screen success as well, as he was hired by Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, Miller beer and his studio company, Sony, to film commercials announcing their brand. Ruiz's second album was a various artists' compilation dedicated to salsa singers from the 1960s and 1970s. The tribute album was named "Los Soneros de Hoy". loosely translated into "Today's (salsa) performers".
Also in 1993, Ruiz released his second album. "Mi Media Mitad" ("My Other Half") was a large hit in the United States and in Europe, once again, making the Billboard hits list in the States, and topping the European charts. "Mi Media Mitad" became Ruiz's second consecutive platinum album, and it helped make Ruiz popular in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
as well, with a single, "Si te Preguntan" ("If They Ask You") becoming a major hit song. Soon after that album's release, Ruiz made his debut at New York's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
Ruiz's third album, "En Cuerpo y Alma
En cuerpo y alma
En cuerpo y alma is a 1951 Argentine film....
" ("Body and Soul"), was released in 1995. This was Ruiz's third platinum album in a row; his songs "Estamos Solos" ("We Are Alone") and "Vuelve de Nuevo Conmigo" ("Return Once Again With Me") were international hits, and many salsa experts consider this album to be Ruiz's most important release.
In 1996, with the collaboration of famed Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n songwriter Omar Estefano and of Ricardo Quijano, Ruiz released his fourth consecutive platinum album, named "Destino" ("Destiny"). One of the most publicly acclaimed songs in that album was "Miénteme Otra Vez" ("Lie to me Again").
His next album, 1997's "Porque es Amor' ("Because it is Love") failed to have the commercial success Ruiz's four previous releases had, ending Ruiz's streak of platinum albums at four. It did, however, contain three major hit songs, including the title song, as well as "Mi Angel" ("My Angel") and "Tú no Sabes" ("You Don't Know").
In 1998, Ruiz released a greatest hits CD, named "Exitos del Rey" ("Rey's Hits", a name which can also be interpreted as "The King's hits", since Rey means king in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
). By then, Ruiz owned a recording company; his next album, "Ya Ves Quien Soy" ("Now You See Who I Am"), becoming one of the first CDs to be released by Ruiz's Luna Negra ("Dark Moon") record label.
"Ya Ves Quien Soy" was another commercial success for Ruiz, particularly in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Ruiz collaborated with Brazilian singer José Augusto in this album, when the pair recorded a duet song, "Siempre Mía" ("Always Mine").
In 2000, Ruiz joined the Bohemia Records label, releasing "Fenomenal" ("Phenomenal") under that label. In 2004, he released Mi Tentacion.
In 2008 Ruiz fulfilled a lifetime dream by performing on stage with some of his closest musical colleagues at the Adrian Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Along with Grammy Winner Arturo Sandoval, Objectivo Fama winner Marlon and Los Tres de La Habana, this musical collaboration was recorded for a soon to be released DVD. Ruiz signed on to a new recording contract which brings him back to his original label Sony/BMG with a highly anticipated album being produced by Cuco Pena one of Puerto Rico's premier musical producers and also credited for producing a Grammy Award Winning Album for Marc Anthony.
External links
- www.ReyRuiz.com Official site
- musicofpuertorico.com's page on Ruiz