Rubén Juárez (5 November 1947 – 31 May 2010) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

bandoneonist The bandoneon () or bandonion is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, it is held between the hands, and played ...

and singer-songwriter of

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

Early life

He was born in Ballesteros, in the province of

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

on 5 November 1947 and raised in

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...

(south of

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires (, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of B ...

). Juárez studied the bandoneón from the age of six. In 1956, he entered the Youth Orchestra of

Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its Association football, football team, which plays in the Argentine Primera Divi ...

. His corresponding studies of the guitar during his youth led him to integrate various rock bands into his repertoire.

Music career

Years later he met the guitarist Héctor Arbello around the time that they both played together with

Julio Sosa Julio María Sosa Venturini (2 February 1926 – 26 November 1964), usually referred to simply as Julio Sosa or El Varón del Tango, was a Uruguayan tango (music), tango singer. Biography Sosa was born in Las Piedras, Uruguay, Las Piedras, a Ca ...

. Subsequently, they formed a duo with, and they began to tour around the country. When the bandoneonist

Aníbal Troilo Aníbal Carmelo Troilo (11 July 1914 – 18 May 1975), also known as Pichuco, was an Argentine tango musician. Troilo was a bandoneon player, composer, arranger, and bandleader in Argentina. His orquesta típica was among the most popular wit ...

(1914–1975) went to watch him the first time, Rubén asked him to be his artistic godfather. On 2 June 1969 he recorded his first song with the label Odeón ''Para vos, canilla'', and that was an immediate success. After a year, he was recruited by Nicolás Mancera to sing on his TV program ''Sábados Circulares''. Since that time, he has acted in Argentina and abroad, and recorded songs with artists like Armando Pontier,

Charly García Carlos Alberto García Moreno (born October 23, 1951), better known by his stage name Charly García, is an Argentine singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer, considered one of the most important rock musicians in ...

Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-oriented ...

Leopoldo Federico Leopoldo Federico (12 January 1927 – 28 December 2014) was an Argentine bandoneon player, arranger, director and composer. Life Born in the district of Once in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico was one of the most prolific bandoneo ...

, Raúl Garello,

Litto Nebbia Félix Francisco Nebbia Corbacho, better known as Litto Nebbia (born 21 July 1948) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and producer, prominent in the development of the early Argentine rock scene. Life and work Litto Nebbia was born in ...

, the guitarist Roberto Grela and José Colángelo. In later years he worked with the ''master'' Raúl Luzzi.

Illness and death

In 2002, he moved with his family to

Villa Carlos Paz Villa Carlos Paz () is a city in the center-north of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, in the south of the Punilla Valley, lying on the western slope of the Sierras Chicas. It has a populati ...

(35 km away from Córdoba (city). In 2008, he was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

which obligated him to undergo

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

sessions every three weeks in the city of Córdoba. In April 2010, it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to his bones. On the night of 28 May 2010, the actor and broadcaster Coco Sily interrupted his program ''Animales Sueltos'' to ask for ''Actor's House'' to send an ambulance to take him from Villa Carlos Paz to Buenos Aires, since he had suffered a decompensation that forced him to leave his home. He died from prostate cancer on 31 May 2010 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in the Güemes Sanatorium.

References

1947 births 2010 deaths People from Córdoba Province, Argentina Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires Deaths from prostate cancer Tango singers Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery {{Argentina-singer-stub