The American singer-songwriter of Mexican origin Sixto Díaz Rodríguez, known as Rodríguez, died this Tuesday at the age of 81 for unknown reasons, according to his website.
His is one of those pop-rock stories worth remembering: despite releasing two albums of remarkable quality at the beginning of the 1970s (especially the first Cold Fact, and Coming From Reality), it had hardly any repercussions and quickly was forgotten... in the West.
But years later, chance wanted both albums to be widely distributed in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and, especially, in South Africa, where it achieved late but outstanding success, especially because of some of its lyrics that made reference to Apartheid. . A success that, in the case of African countries, not even Rodríguez himself knew about at first. The American singer-songwriter had retired from music in the late 1970s.
World fame was yet to come. But it came. The Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul collected his particular story in the acclaimed documentary Searching for Sugar Man in 2012. The film focuses on the struggle of two South Africans to learn the story of that enigmatic singer who had been so successful in his country but no one knew. exactly what he was doing or not even if he was alive. Until they find Rodríguez himself and give him the news, thus allowing him, 25 years later, to recover a success that the future had taken from him. So it was that in the late nineties, the singer-songwriter dusted off his old guitars and did some tours in South Africa, where he realized that he was considered a legend.
The tenderness of the story of the lost singer-songwriter thus reached the general public and also critics, Bendjelloul's documentary even winning the Oscar in the category of best long documentary. The story of the documentary has, however, a tragic end: the Swedish director committed suicide just two years later.
Thanks to the reissue of his two albums in 2009 and the multi-award-winning film, Rodríguez lived a second —or perhaps third— youth and resumed international tours (he performed at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona in 2013), although his age did not allow him to enjoy long after his rebirth. The song Sugar Man, the one that was most successful in South Africa and gave its name to the documentary, was undoubtedly his greatest success, but others like Crucify Your Mind, I Wonder or Hate Street Dialogue also stand out in his sadly meager discography.
The keys to his late success also have to do with his direct and sober style, with a clear voice and basic backing instrumentation, very much in fashion for singer-songwriters of the time like Cat Stevens himself. And, especially, his lyrics, which paid homage to the most disadvantaged in society in large cities, taking his native Detroit as a reference. The son of Mexican immigrants, he himself had experienced a difficult life, a situation that, in different phases, his failure in music complicated. However, he was able to enjoy an old age full of recognition, thus symbolizing so many artists who, drowned by the market, could never have succeeded despite his great quality.
