Ruben Rada | |
|---|---|
.jpg/1280px-Rada-_milonga_y_candombe_en_La_Ballena_Azul_(20228209453).jpg) Rada in 2015 | |
| Born | Omar Ruben Rada Silva (1943-07-16) 16 July 1943 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Children | |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals, percussion, tamboriles |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Website | www.negrorada.com |
Omar Ruben Rada Silva (born 16 July 1943, Montevideo, Uruguay) is an Uruguayan musician, singer, songwriter, percussionist, and actor. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Uruguayan popular music, he is known for blending Afro-Uruguayan traditions—particularly candombe—with rock, soul, jazz, and funk.[1]
Rada began his career in the 1960s and co-founded the band El Kinto with Eduardo Mateo. The group is recognized for pioneering candombe beat [2] and for being among the first South American rock bands to sing in Spanish while incorporating Latin percussion into a rock format. In the early 1970s, he formed Totem, noted for its fusion of Afro-Uruguayan rhythms with rock influences. Rada later collaborated with Hugo and Osvaldo Fattoruso in the United States–based jazz fusion group Opa, contributing significantly to the album Magic Time (1977).[3]
In the 1980s, Rada relocated to Buenos Aires, where he led an ensemble featuring both Uruguayan and Argentine musicians. The group produced a series of recordings that combined candombe, jazz, and rock, a period often considered among the most significant in his career.
During the 1990s, he lived in Mexico, working as a sideman with various artists, including Tania Libertad. He also recorded three albums in the United States during this period: Montevideo (1996), Montevideo II (1999), and Rada Factory (unreleased).
Rada returned to Uruguay at the end of the decade, entering a period of broad recognition and commercial success throughout the 2000s in Uruguay, Argentina, and other parts of Latin America.
In 2011, he received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his influential career and his contributions to the fusion of candombe with jazz, funk, soul, and other genres.[4]
In 2013 Rada received Berklee’s Master of Latin Music award from the Berklee College of Music.[5]
In 2020, his song “El Ómnibus” was sampled by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist in the track 1985.[6]
Career
In 1965, he and Eduardo Mateo formed the band El Kinto Conjunto. This was the first group in Uruguay to create the beat genre in Spanish and to fuse rock with Latin American musical styles. In 1969 the success of his Candombe song "Las Manzanas" ("The Apples") led to his first solo album and participation in the Festival of Popular Music in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A year later he formed the band Tótem. He has recorded more than thirty albums.
In 1977, he traveled to the United States after an invitation by the Fattoruso Brothers to play with the group OPA. Over the next year, he performed with Tom Scott, Ray Barretto, Hermeto Pascoal, and Flora Purim.
Between 1991 and 1994, he settled in Mexico, where he worked as a composer and arranger for local musicians such as Mijares, Eugenia León, Stephanie Salas, and Tania Libertad. In 1994 he shared the spotlight with Sting and UB40 at the Palacio de Deportes in Mexico City.
Rada has achieved renown outside the country and recorded under international labels, including EMI Latin and Universal Records. His songs are played worldwide and have been recorded by Milton Nascimento, Herb Alpert, and Lani Hall. He was invited by Jon Anderson and Joan Manuel Serrat to appear on their albums Deseo and Utopía, respectively. British singer Paul McCartney and Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento are among his admirers.
His albums Montevideo (1996) and Montevideo II (1999) were recorded in New York City with Hiram Bullock, Anton Fig, José Pedro Beledo, Hugo Fattoruso, Bakithi Kumalo, and Ringo Thielmann. Montevideo reached platinum sales in Uruguay
He voiced the part of Lucius Best/Frozone in the 2004 Argentinian dubbing of The Incredibles. He has directed radio and TV shows, such as Radar (radio) and El Teléfono (TV). Beginning in October 2007, he starred in the television sitcom La Oveja Negra (The Black Sheep).
In April 2010, the third round of the series LifeLines at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin paid tribute to Rubén Rada. Three days of concerts and discussions took place about his life and career as part of the Bicentenario, focusing on 200 years of independence movements in Latin America.
Also in 2010, Rada recorded a show in the Argentine program Encuentro en El Estudio, which is run by that country's Ministry of Education.
Discography
With El Kinto
- 1971 Musicasion 4 1/2 (De La Planta)
- 1977 Circa 1968 (Clave)
With Totem
- 1971 Totem (Sondor)
- 1972 Descarga (Sondor)
With Opa
- 1977 Magic Time (Milestone)
Solo albums
- 1969 Rada (Sondor)
- 1974 Rada y Conjunto S.O.S (Clave)
- 1975 Radeces (Ayui)
- 1980 La Banda (Sazam)
- 1981 La Rada (Sazam)
- 1982 En Familia (Sazam)
- 1984 Adar Nebur (Sazam)
- 1986 La Yapla Mata (Raviol)
- 1987 Botija de mi pais (with Eduardo Mateo) (Sondor)
- 1987 Siete Vidas (Sazam)
- 1991 Fisico de Rock (Sondor)
- 1989 Pa' los Uruguayos (Melopea)
- 1990 Las aventuras de R. Rada y Litto Nebbia (with Litto Nebbia) (Melopea)
- 1991 Las aventuras de R. Rada y H. Fattoruso (with Hugo Fattoruso) (Melopea)
- 1991 Terapia de Murga (Melopea)
- 1996 Botijas Band con Ruben Rada (Orfeo)
- 1996 Montevideo (Big World)
- 1997 Miscelanea Negra (Ayui)
- 1998 Black (Universal)
- 1999 Rada Para Ninos (Zapatito)
- 1999 Montevideo Dos (Big World)
- 2000 ¿Quien va a Cantar? (Universal)
- 2001 Suenos de Nino (Zapatito)
- 2003 Alegre Caballero (Zapatito)
- 2004 Rubenra (Zapatito)
- 2006 Richie Silver (EMI)
- 2007 Varsovia (with Javier Malosetti) (Zapatito/Oday)
- 2008 Bailongo (Sony)
- 2009 Fan (MMG)
- 2011 Confidence, Rada Instrumental (MMG)
- 2015 Tango, milonga y candombe (MMG)
- 2015: Allegro (MMG)
- 2017: Confidence 2: La Película (MMG)
- 2019: Negro Rock (MMG)
- 2021: As noites do Rio / Aerolíneas Candombe (MMG)
- 2022: Candombe (MMG)
- 2024: Candombe con la ayudita de mis amigos (MMG)
Live albums
- 1983 La Cosa se Pone negra (Sazam)
- 1992 Concierto por la vida (Orfeo)
- 2004 Candombe Jazz Tour (EMI)
- 2020 Parte de la Historia (MMG)
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | The Return of Martín Fierro | ||
| 1983 | Buenos Aires Rock | Himself | Concert film |
| 1997 | 24 horas (Algo está por explotar) | Cook | |
| 1999 | The Life Jacket Is Under Your Seat | Sancucho | |
| 2004 | The Incredibles | Lucius Best/Frozone (voice) | Rioplatense Spanish dubbing |
| 2014 | Por un puñado de pelos | Machaco | |
| 2019 | Cara Sucia, con la magia de la naturaleza | Mono Vivaldi (voice) | Animated film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Gasoleros | Liber | Supporting role |
| 1999 | Telecataplúm | Sketch actor | |
| 2000–2008 | El show del mediodía | ||
| 2000 | El teléfono | Himself – Host | |
| 2007 | La oveja negra | Omar Pereyra | Main cast |
| 2010 | Porque te quiero así | Nelson | Main cast |
| 2012 | Décadas | Himself – Host | |
| 2017 | Es tu sentido | Himself – Co-host | |
| 2022–present | La Voz Uruguay | Himself – Coach | |
| 2023–present | La Voz Kids Uruguay | Himself – Coach |
Personal life
Rada, an Afro-Uruguayan, is of partial Brazilian descent through his mother.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Ruben Rada: oro negro". El Observador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ Delucchi, Santiago (2022-07-20). "Candombe Beat: Travel Back in Time of Uruguayan Music". Tigre Sounds - Music Discovery for the Citizen of the World. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ Waring, Charles (2025-07-30). "'Goldenwings': How South American Jazz-Funkateers Opa Got Off The Ground". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ Room, World Music Central News (2011-08-01). "Afro-Uruguayan innovator Ruben Rada Receives 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Latin Recording Academy | World Music Central". Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ "Uruguayan Musician Rubén Rada Receives Master of Latin Music Award | Berklee". www.berklee.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ "Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist's '1985' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
- ^ "Un lazo con las raíces más profundas de la cultura" (in Spanish). Consejo de Educación Inicial y Primaria. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
My mother and aunt, who came from Brazil, said that I did not learn because the teacher was racist
External links
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- Official website
- Article on culturebase.net: "Uruguay’s Undiscovered Giant"
- The Latin Recording Academy press release 2011 Special Awards
- "Afro-Uruguayan innovator Ruben RADA Receives 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Latin Recording Academy"
