Rubén Fuentes (15 February 1926 – 5 February 2022) was a Mexican classical violinist and composer, who was best known for his contributions to

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

music.

Biography

In 1944, Fuentes joined Mariachi

Vargas de Tecalitlán Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán is a Mexican folk ensemble of mariachi music founded in 1897 by Gaspar Vargas. Since 1950 it has been under the artistic guidance of Rubén Fuentes. The group's musical direction had been the responsibility of Do ...

as a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist and later as a music arranger. In 1955 he stopped performing in the group, but he has maintained his position as producer, musical arranger and

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

. As such, he had a profound influence on Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and mariachi music in general. He is best known for his work on

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

's classic, Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum '' Canciones de Mi Padre'' album. With domestic sales of 2.5 million copies, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' stands as the biggest-selling non-English language record in US history. Fuentes wrote dozens of Mexican standards, including "La Culebra", "Cien Años", "Las Alazanas", "Como Si Nada", "La Bikina", "Que Bonita Es Mi Tierra", "Flor Sin Retoño", "Ni Princesa Ni Esclava" and "Camino Real de Colima" (many composed with

Silvestre Vargas Silvestre Vargas (31 December, 1901 – October 7, 1985, Guadalajara) was a Mexican mariachi musician. In 1928, he became the leader of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, an ensemble from Jalisco begun by his father in 1898. In the 1930s the group m ...

). Fuentes also produced several of Linda Ronstadt's traditional Latin albums. His songs have been performed by

Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera music singer and actor, whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. His popularity spread across Latin America. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinalo ...

Miguel Aceves Mejía Miguel Aceves Mejía (13 November 1915 – 6 November 2006) was a Mexican actor, composer and singer. Miguel Aceves Mejía, or "the God of Ranchera" as he was popularly known, was born in El Paso, Texas, and was registered in Ciudad Juárez i ...

Flor Silvestre Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla (16 August 1930 – 25 November 2020), known professionally as Flor Silvestre, was a Mexican singer and actress. She was one of the most prominent and successful performers of Mexican and Latin American music, and wa ...

, Amalia Mendoza,

Marco Antonio Muñiz Marco Antonio Muñiz (born 3 March 1933) is a Mexican singer from Jalisco, Mexico. Known all over Latin America, he also acted in the 1965 film '' Sinful'' ( Spanish: El Pecador). He belongs to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Early life and car ...

Javier Solís Gabriel Siria Levario (4 September 1931 – 19 April 1966), known professionally as Javier Solís, was a Mexican singer and actor. He specialized in the musical genres of bolero and ranchera. Early life Gabriel Siria Levario was the first of ...

, and

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...

, among others. Fuentes was the musical director of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

in Mexico during the late 1950s to the late 1960s. For that reason, he was the arranger and musical producer of many records of major ranchero singers. Most of them were accompanied by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. Fuentes was also the musical arranger for most of José Alfredo Jiménez's songs, a prolific Mexican-born composer whose compositions, like Fuentes, elevated traditional Mariachi music to international heights and acclaim. Fuentes died on 5 February 2022, at the age of 95.Fallece el compositor mexicano Rubén Fuentes
eluniversal.com.mx. Accessed 20 October 2022.

References

External links

* * 1926 births 2022 deaths 21st-century violinists Mariachi musicians Musicians from Jalisco Mexican music arrangers Mexican fiddlers People from Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco Latin music composers {{NorthAm-composer-stub