Ruben Rada, who took Uruguayan candombe to international audiences, dies at 83

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wednesday, August 26th 2026 - 22:26 UTC

Rada built a career spanning more than six decades centred on candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan percussive tradition inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on its list of intangible cultural heritage

Uruguayan singer, composer and percussionist Ruben Rada died on Wednesday at the age of 83 in Montevideo. His family announced the death on the artist's social media accounts, specifying that it occurred at 3.30pm, “after fighting for a month against pneumonia and its complications.”

Born in Montevideo on July 16, 1943, Rada built a career spanning more than six decades centred on candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan percussive tradition inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on its list of intangible cultural heritage. His contribution lay in fusing it with rock, jazz, funk and murga, and in projecting it beyond the River Plate.