Also known as El Monumental Role Musician | Name Ricardo Aguirre Years active 1958–1969 | |
Born May 9, 1939Maracaibo, Venezuela ( 1939-05-09 ) Occupation(s) Musician, singer, composer, director Associated acts Cardenales del ExitoSaladillo Died November 8, 1969, Maracaibo, Venezuela Similar People Cardenales Del Exito, Gran Coquivacoa, Ricardo Portillo, Astolfo Romero, Rafael Rincon Gonzalez | ||
Recordando con EL Monumental RICARDO AGUIRRE
Ricardo José Aguirre González, (Maracaibo, 9 May 1939 – 8 November 1969), was a Venezuelan folk musician and Gaita zuliana singer and composer. He was known as the Monumental de la Gaita by Octavio Urdaneta (Gaita Monumental) or "El padre de la gaita" (The Father of Gaita) and composed the popular song "La grey zuliana".
Contents
- Recordando con EL Monumental RICARDO AGUIRRE
- May 9 ricardo aguirre billy joel manfred eigen
- Beginnings
- Musical career
- Death
- Origin of his artistic name
- References
May 9 ricardo aguirre billy joel manfred eigen
Beginnings
His parents were Luisángel Aguirre and Ida Cira Gonzalez. He began his elementary education at a small private school, then continued to study in two public schools. His secondary education was interrupted by political turmoil caused by popular pressure against the dictatorship of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez. After the dictatorship ended in 1958,Gonzalez moved to the town of Rubio in the border state of Táchira, as a schoolteacher. He then attended Gervasio Rubio high school. After receiving a degree as a teacher at age 19, he taught at the Monseñor Francisco A. Granadillo school, while serving as an announcer on the radio station La Voz de la Fe.
Musical career
While he was studying to become a teacher, he learned to play the guitar, piano, and other instruments, outcropping his composer vein in the genre of gaita zuliana. He became a member of different musical groups, and performed in musicals and theatrical plays. He began by being director of the gaita zuliana groups Los Sabrosos y Santa Canoíta. In 1962, he initially joined the group named Cardenales with his three brothers Alves, Rixio and Renato. After a division within the group, Ricardo Aguirre proposed an addition to the name and the suggestion was accepted, consequently naming the group Los Cardenales del Éxito, the name which the group still uses today.
In 1967, due to differences among members, Gonzalez left and joined the group Saladillo, where he composed the song, "La Grey Zuliana". Aguirre stayed and recorded for two years (1967 and 1968) with the group. He later returned to Los Cardenales del Éxito where he recorded another album.
Death
His musical career ended abruptly on November 8, 1969, when he was killed in a vehicular accident in Maracaibo. On November 4, 1983 the then-Governor of Zulia State, Humberto Fernández Auvert, issued a decree officially declaring November 8 as El Día de los Gaiteros in memory of the singer. He had four children who later formed the group Dinastía Aguirre.
Origin of his artistic name
Lawyer Octavio Urdaneta, who was a friend of the artist, on one occasion decided to call Aguirre "The Monumental" without much thought. Later, Aguirre was called that to justify his quality performance as a singer and musician, someone with a powerful voice and simple personality.