Omar Ruben Rada Silva (born 16 July 1943) is a Uruguayan percussionist, composer, singer and television personality. Closely associated with

candombe ''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Rep ...

, a genre built around a chorus of ''tamboriles'', Uruguayan barrel drums, Rada has recorded more than thirty albums. His music, labelled ''candombe beat'', combines pop, rock, and other styles with Uruguayan sounds, such as candombe drums and murga choruses.

Career

In 1965, he and Eduardo Mateo formed the band . 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 Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

Hermeto Pascoal Hermeto Pascoal (born June 22, 1936) is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is best known in music of Brazil, Brazilian music for his orchestration and improvisation, as well as ...

, 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 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

at the Palacio de Deportes in Mexico City. Rada has achieved renown outside the country and recorded under international labels, including

EMI Latin Capitol Latin (formerly EMI Latin) is a brand of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group. Previously, it was a subsidiary of EMI. History In 1989, José Behar, the former head of CBS Discos, signed Selena t ...

and

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. His songs are played worldwide and have been recorded by Milton Nascimento,

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

, and

Lani Hall Lani Hall (born November 6, 1945) is an American singer. From 1966 to 1971, she performed as lead vocalist for Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66. In 1972, Hall released her first solo album, ''Sun Down Lady''. She may be be ...

. He was invited by

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

and

Joan Manuel Serrat Joan Manuel Serrat Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer, and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both Spanish and Catalan languages. Serrat's lyrical style has b ...

to appear on their albums ''Deseo'' and ''Utopía'', respectively. British singer

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

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 Hiram Law Bullock (September 11, 1955 – July 25, 2008) was an American guitarist known mainly for playing in jazz funk and jazz fusion, but he also worked as a session musician in a variety of genres. Biography Bullock was born in Osaka, Ja ...

, 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 ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...

''. 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 The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of World Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societi ...

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

The albums '' Magic Time'' (Opa – Fantasy Records), ''Montevideo'', and ''Montevideo II'' (Big World) were released in the U.S., Japan, France, Italy, Sweden, and Germany.

Released in Uruguay

* 1968 ''Circa 1968'' (Sondor) * 1969 ''Las Manzanas'' (Sondor) * 1970 ''Musicasión 4 ½'' (Sondor) * 1971 ''Totem'' (Sondor) * 1972 ''Descarga'' (Sondor) * 1972 ''Rada'' (Sondor) * 1974 ''Camerata Punta del Este'' (Sondor) * 1975 ''Radeces'' (Ayui) * 1987 ''Botija de mi pais'' (Sondor) * 1991 ''Fisico de Rock'' (Sondor) * 1992 ''Concierto por la vida'' (Orfeo) * 1993 ''Lo mejor de Rada'' Vol. I (Sondor) * 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) * 2005 ''Candombe Jazz Tour'' (EMI) * 2006 ''Richie Silver'' (EMI) * 2007 ''Varsovia'' con Javier Malosetti (Zapatito/Oday) * 2008 ''Bailongo'' (Sony) * 2009 ''Fan'' (MMG) * 2011 ''Confidence, Rada Instrumental'' (MMG) * 2015 ''Tango, milonga y candombe'' (MMG)

Released in Argentina

* 1974 ''S.O.S.'' * 1980 ''La Banda'' * 1981 ''La Rada'' * 1982 ''En Familia'' * 1983 ''La Cosa Se Pone Negra'' * 1984 ''Adar Nebur'' * 1986 ''La Yapla Mata'' * 1987 ''Siete Vidas'' * 1989 ''Pa' los Uruguayos'' (Melopea) * 1990 ''Las aventuras de R. Rada y Litto Nebbia''(Melopea) * 1991 ''Las aventuras de R. Rada y H. Fattoruso'' (Melopea) * 1991 ''Terapia de Murga'' (Melopea) * 1997 ''Montevideo'' (Argendisc) * 1997 ''Miscelanea Negra'' (Aqua) * 1998 ''Black'' (Universal) * 2000 ''Quien Va a Cantar'' (Universal) * 2003 ''Alegre Caballero'' (EMI) * 2004 ''Rubenra'' (EMI) * 2005 ''Candombe Jazz Tour'' (EMI) * 2006 ''Richie Silver'' (EMI) * 2007 ''Varsovia''(Ruben Rada/Javier Malosetti) (Sony) * 2008 ''Bailongo'' (Sony) * 2010 ''Fan'' (Sony) * 2011 ''Confidence, Rada Instrumental'' (Sony) * 2015 ''Tango, milonga y candombe'' (MMG)

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

Rada, an Afro-Uruguayan, is of partial Brazilian descent through his mother.

References

External links

*
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"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rada, Ruben 1943 births Living people African diaspora in Uruguay Musicians from Montevideo Singers from Montevideo Uruguayan musicians 20th-century Uruguayan male singers Uruguayan songwriters Male songwriters Uruguayan jazz musicians Uruguayan percussionists 21st-century Uruguayan male singers Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin music songwriters Uruguayan people of Brazilian descent Male jazz musicians Opa (Uruguayan band) members Recipients of the Delmira Agustini Medal