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General Description of Work: Valentin Ruiz sings Mexican ballads and accompanies himself on guitar. His traditional songs are based on the age-old themes of romance, love and tragedy. These songs are generally sung in a man's voice reflecting those strong feelings for the woman in his life (or the one who just left him, driven him to sooth his sorrows with music).
There is a Latin music tradition of reinvigorating classic titles by revamping them with trendy, upbeat tempos. The positive side of this practice is that new generations become familiar with old standbys, songs that their parents and grandparents enjoy. The downside is that the original edge is lost. These tend to be songs about longing, adoration, anguish and awe; theirs is a slow, invasive tempo.
Valentin prefers to perform traditional songs in their original style and deliver their message with the intended impact. Along the way he contributes to conserving his cultural history.
Bio: Valentin Ruiz's specialty is traditional Mexican love songs—boleros and ballads. He also plays Ecuadorian waltzes, which are similar in theme and tempo. The songs he performs are well known throughout Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
Valetin is familiar with and has performed over 100 titles. The most often requested are “Mujeres Divinas”, “Las Llaves de mi Alma”, “Nos Estorbó la Ropa”, “Gema”, “Sin Ti”, “El Andariego” y “No Mas Las Mujeres Quedan”. All of these songs could be characterized as standards, in a league with “My Way”, “Falling in Love Again” and ‘Yesterday”. Like musical standards anywhere, they are poignant and timeless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1X3YNVM11I
Services Offered 1: Performances at festivals, community events, and for schools
Months available: : all
Performance fees, mileage charges, related to arts services: : call for fees
Accessibility accommodations, space requirements, equipment and all other needs that should be met by sponsors: : call for tech needs
