Rigoberto Rojas Suárez (January 4, 1917 – August 7, 2001), better known as Tarateño Rojas, was a
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n singer, musician and composer based in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.
He sang and played traditional Andean music and is a symbol of friendship between the Bolivian and
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
people.
Biography
Rojas was born in
Tarata in the department of
Cochabamba
Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...
to a family of musicians.
Tarateño Rojas emigrated to Argentina after the
Chaco War
The Chaco War (, [Charango
The charango is a small Andes, Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua people, Quechua and Aymara people, Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments we ...]
and it was him who started the diffusion of the Trompo music instrument in Argentina in the 1940s. He became part of the group "Pachamama" formed by
Mauro Núñez another influential
charanguista. Mauro Núñez, Hugo Echave, Tito Veliz, Antonio Pantoja y Mario Rudón were also part of the group.
But he is especially known for having invented the Sucu Sucu Taquirari in 1959 and for having composed the song of the same name : "
Sucu sucu "Sucu Sucu" is a dance and a song written by Tarateño Rojas from Bolivia, who recorded his version in 1959. It became very popular in the 1960s and many singers and bands from all over the world made their own version of the song often in their ow ...
" played by dozens of artists over the world.
He has performed under several names such as Rosas, Rojas, T.Rojas, and Alberto Rojas more often than his real name. He also had a role in the Spanish movie ''La cigarra''. He died the August 7, 2001 in Buenos Aires after 2 years of disease.
Discography
* Tarateño Rojas - Doble TK EP 54-150 (1959)
* Tarateño Rojas & Wara Wara - Viva Bolivia - Argentina LP
* Tarateño Rojas y su conjunto - Tarateño Rojas - Argentina LP
* Tarateño Rojas - Spain LP (1975)
* Tarateño Rojas - Chants et musique typique incas - French LP (1975)
* Tarateño Rojas - Chants et musique typique incas Vol.1 & 2 - French LP
* Tarateño Rojas - Abecedario Lp (1976)
* Tarateño Rojas - Sucu-Sucu alles tanzt heutʹ - Mambo - German LP
* Tarateño Rojas - El Rey Del Sucu Sucu
* Tarateño Rojas - Sueños
* Tarateño Rojas - Mambo De Machaguay
Filmography
* La cigarra (1948)
Books
* Sucu Sucu : Mambo (1958)
* Step right up and say you love me (1961)
Prizes
* Honour diploma from the Bolivian embassy and the Civil Bolivian Association Federation (1997)
* Gold medal of the national artist R.C.U.N 121/64 from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón
* Honour parchment from the authorities and people of Tarata (1964)
* C.I.C.M.A.T - Centro de Investigaciones en Comunicación Masiva, Arte y Tecnología from the city of Buenos Aires (1975)
* Peña Naira - Appreciation diploma from the Bolivian Folkorists Society (1979)
* Diploma Salon de Arte Tortoni from the Director Juan Carlos Martínez and members of the hall of the city of Ciudad de Buenos Aires (1993)
* Special Mention - Bloque de Consejales Justicialistas del Honorable Consejo Deliberante de la Capital Federal
from the “Encuentro de Cultura para la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Enrique Santos Discepolo” (1989)
* I.N.C.A.M. Honour Diploma from the American Historian, art and archeological cultural Institute (1985)
* "La Casa Del Cantor" diploma from the Directive Commission and the members
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Tarateno
People from Esteban Arce Province
Bolivian composers
Bolivian male composers
20th-century Bolivian male singers
1917 births
2001 deaths
Bolivian emigrants to Argentina