Uruguayan singer Ruben Rada dies at 83

Ruben Rada, the Uruguayan singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist regarded as a foundational figure of Rio de la Plata music, has died at 83. He had spent roughly three weeks hospitalized in Montevideo being treated for bilateral pneumonia before his death on August 26.

His family confirmed the news in a statement posted to his official social media, thanking fans and medical staff and describing him as "our beloved husband, father and grandfather."

Rada's career began in the mid-1960s, when he and Eduardo Mateo formed the group El Kinto and developed candombe beat, a fusion of Afro-Uruguayan rhythms with British rock and bossa nova that became the foundation of his sound for the next six decades. He went on to front the groups Totem and Opa alongside brothers Hugo and Osvaldo Fattoruso, and his music influenced a generation of Argentine rock bands, including Los Piojos.

Across more than 50 years, Rada moved through jazz, blues, soul, reggae and Brazilian rhythms without ever leaving candombe behind, while also building a parallel career as a television and film actor going back to the early 1960s. His biggest hits, including "Quien va a cantar," "Cha-cha, muchacha" and "Muriendo de plena," remain fixtures at Latin music gatherings; the last of those was adopted as a chant by Argentine soccer fans and is still sung in stadiums. He won a Grammy for Musical Excellence in 2011 and multiple Gardel Awards over his career.

Rada beat cancer roughly 15 years before his death and kept working steadily afterward, revisiting his earlier bands on a live album, recording an album of candombes and tangos, and collaborating late in his career with the Argentine rapper Trueno.