Frankie Ruíz

On August 9, 1998, Salsa lost one of its greatest singers, Frankie Ruiz, to liver failure, which according to various resources, resulted from complications of the AIDS virus. One of the first to perform in the Salsa Sensual style, Ruiz had played a major role in the resurgence of salsa's popularity in the '70s. A native of Patterson, NJ, Ruiz began singing at a very young age. He was still a child when he made his recording debut with Charlie Lopez y Su Orquesta. Moving, with his mother, to Puerto Rico in 1965, he became enamored by the music of a popular salsa band, La Soluc...