Puerto Rican musician and actor Ramón “Moncho” Saldaña, who broke into the artistic world both on the island and in the United States, died this afternoon, his family confirmed in a post on social media.
In a joint statement, his sons Álvaro, Diego and Ramón Emilio confirmed their father’s death “after a short illness”.
“Father, partner, brother, uncle, cousin, friend and loved by all. He devoted himself to music and acting. He lived a full life with his family and friends,” the message said.
According to the National Foundation of Popular Culture, Saldaña was born on June 2 in the municipality of Humacao. The artist has been venturing into the world of music since he was 16, when he sang with a friend who accompanied him on drums.
After this new adventure, the man from Humacao continued to sing in English and Spanish in different parts of the country with the San José and Los Tropicales groups at the Holiday Inn Hotel and later with Mickey Juarbe’s group at the Hunca Munca in the Hotel San Juan. By the end of that day, however, he moved to the United States where he began singing on the East Coast and Midwest where he began to gain a following.
While fulfilling his professional obligations, he recommended him to sing at Club Restaurant Dionisios, which was notable for being frequented by figures such as Jacqueline Onnasis, Liza Minelli and other Hollywood greats. In this restaurant, Saldaña sang for two consecutive summers.
He later continued to perform in the Bahamas, St. Croix, St. Thomas and Miami where he came into contact with people from different cultures. Shortly after completing his performances in the Caribbean, he once again returned to New York City, where he fulfilled a six-week contract with Arab club El Ibis.
Upon returning to Puerto Rico, Saldaña sang at the Tasca de Hugo in Old San Juan, but previously attended the Second Song and Voice Festival. In his lectures he sang songs from yesterday as well as modern compositions. In this way, in 1980, the Alambra label released a single album with the jibara guaracha “¡Qué bella es mi tierra!” and the dance “Sunrise”.
Despite her artistic commitment, Saldaña graduated from the School of Humanities at the University of Puerto Rico with minors in English and Art. After graduating, he devoted a time to teaching math and physical education at an elementary school, but continued to travel to New York to hone his musical skills after enrolling in piano and voice classes.
She later completed postgraduate studies at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music while continuing her individual and choral training.
As an actor, the Puerto Rican has appeared in melodramas such as “General Hospital”, “Tormento” (WAPA), “La Isla” (TeleOnce) and “Cuando caliente el sol” and appeared in the 2006 telenovela “Dueña” with y señora” (Dueña y señora) (Telemundo).
On the other hand, he was involved in the filming of commercials for companies such as Fresh Milk, Black Jack, Budweiser, Walgreens, Poncebank, McDonalds, Movistar and Suzuki. .
He has also acted in television films, where he has appeared in productions such as Hemmingway, Friendless, Autopsy, The Dream Team, Sunstorm, Los Seijo Díaz, and Mein Haus.com. .
Cinema was another medium in which Ramón became known. For the seventh art, he worked on projects such as the film “Brenda Starr”, “Show of Force”, “Amistad”, “Under Suspicion” and “El sueño del regreso”.
The Saldaña family announced that they will soon announce when the artist’s funeral service will take place.