Rubén Rada

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rada and the second or maternal family name is Silva.

Ruben Rada
Rada in 2015
Born	Omar Ruben Rada Silva (1943-07-16)16 July 1943 Montevideo, Uruguay
Died	26 August 2026(2026-08-26) (aged 83) Montevideo, Uruguay
Children	Lucila Matías Julieta
Musical career
Genres	Candombe Latin jazz World fusion
Instruments	Vocals, percussion, tamboriles
Years active	1955–2026

Omar Ruben Rada Silva (16 July 1943 – 26 August 2026) was a Uruguayan musician, singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Uruguayan popular music, he was known for blending Afro-Uruguayan traditions—particularly candombe—with rock, soul, jazz, and funk.

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 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).

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).

He 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.

In 2013 Rada received Berklee's Master of Latin Music award from the Berklee College of Music.

In 2020, his song “El Ómnibus” was sampled by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist in the track 1985.

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 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 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.

Personal life and death

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

On 26 August 2026, Rada's family announced that he had died early that day after experiencing complications from pneumonia. He was 83.

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
2022–2024	La Voz Uruguay	Himself – Coach
2023–2025	La Voz Kids Uruguay	Himself – Coach

See also

• Uruguayan rock
• Candombe
• Tótem (band)

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"
• Rubén Rada at IMDb
• Rubén Rada discography at Discogs