Rodrigo (musician)

Early life and beginnings in music Rodrigo Alejandro Bueno was born on 24 May 1973, in Córdoba, Argentina, as the first of three brothers. His father, Eduardo Alberto Bueno, was a record store owner and music producer for Columbia Records as well as BMG, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. His mother, Beatriz Olave, was a newsstand owner and songwriter. Jiménez would later become his main musical influence, along with the bands Cuarteto de Oro, Berna and La Leo. During family meetings, Bueno would sing their songs for his relatives into a wooden microphone, a gift from his carpenter uncle. At the age of five, with the help of his father, he recorded his first album, Disco Baby. One of the songs from the set, a cover of a María Elena Walsh song, was used as the opening theme of the children's show Carozo y Narizota, broadcast on El Trece (Channel 13) in Argentina. Growing up, Bueno worked as a paperboy at the newsstand of his grandmother, Hortensia. In 1984, he attended concerts of the local band Chébere and was occasionally invited to join them on stage. The next year, he dropped out of school and started working at his father's record shop, where he sometimes sang for the customers. A friend of his father belonged to the local band Manto Negro and offered Rodrigo a spot in the band. This is where he formally started his career in music, signing his first contract and earning his first salary as a musician at age thirteen. Becoming a soloist and rise to fame As Rodrigo failed to achieve success in Córdoba after five years with Manto Negro, his father and manager Eduardo decided to launch Rodrigo's career as a soloist in Buenos Aires. In 1990, he published his debut album, La Foto de tu Cuerpo, through Polygram Records. In 1991, he published his next album, Aprendiendo a Vivir, which he promoted with his first appearance in Buenos Aires at the nightclub Fantástico Bailable. The success of his performance propelled the sales of the record and gained Bueno the acknowledgement of the tropical music scene. It was followed by Completamente Enamorado, Muy Bueno and Made in Argentina, which met with moderate success. In 1993, his father died of a heart attack in Bueno's arms prior to a concert where he would promote his new release La Joya. Bueno was forced to perform and later considered retiring. In 1996, he signed a contract with Magenta Records that gave him 1% of his total record sales. La Leyenda Continúa and Cuarteteando sold 60,000 copies each. Bueno began 2000 with a major tour of Argentina's main summer spots on its Atlantic Coast. He performed 49 concerts in nine days, including one in front of more than 100,000 people in the tourist hotspot of Mar del Plata. The only rehearsal was performed with the band Cuarteto Leo, held in the club Mundo Bailable, owned by his manager Jose Luis Gozalo. Gozalo invested ARS80,000 (equivalent to US$ in ) in publicity, while he requested Tito Lectoure, the owner of the arena, to advance him ARS50,000 (equivalent to US$ in ) Due to the venue's fame for hosting boxing matches, the concerts were conceptualized with boxing elements. Bueno performed dressed in boxing trunks and made his entrance to the stage wearing a robe and walking through a hall in the crowd to the ring-themed stage, emulating a boxing match. Gozalo negotiated the broadcast of the first concert with Azul Televisión. The filming of subsequent performances was halted by the Kirovsky brothers, owners of Magenta Records. The brothers sent a cease and desist order to the channel, claiming that Magenta owned Bueno's personality rights. grossing a total of ARS1.3 million. (equivalent to US$ in ). He detailed that he would finish his scheduled concerts, including a Christmas tour throughout the United States. His last live performance, scheduled to take place at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, was to be released as his final album entitled Adiós Rodrigo. Bueno added that he would become a record producer and move to the United States. ==Death==

Background On 23 June 2000, at 20:00, Bueno attended a taping of La Biblia y el Calefón hosted by Jorge Guinzburg on Canal 13. When the show ended at 22:45, Bueno went to the restaurant El Corralón in Buenos Aires' Palermo neighborhood, where he dined with his family, Fernando Olmedo (son of the comedian Alberto Olmedo) and comedian Pepe Parada. Olmedo remarked that he had never seen one of Bueno's shows, and Bueno invited him to a show that same night at the club Escándalo in La Plata. Bueno gave a two-and-a-half-hour performance in front of an audience of 2,000. When the concert was over, he was asked to stay at the club to rest, but Bueno refused, expressing his desire to drive. Accident In the early hours of 24 June, after the show in La Plata, Bueno was driving back to Buenos Aires in a Ford Explorer SUV with his ex-wife, Patricia Pacheco; his son, Ramiro; Fernando Olmedo; musician Jorge Moreno; and radio host Alberto Pereyra. According to eyewitness accounts, after stopping at a toll booth in the Hudson area of the Buenos Aires – La Plata Highway at between 0330 and 0345, Bueno's path was blocked by a white Chevrolet K5 Blazer four-wheel drive with tinted windows. In anger, Bueno started chasing the Blazer. He tried to pass it by closing onto it with the front of his SUV. After brushing the side of the Blazer, he lost control of his Explorer and crashed against a highway barrier. The SUV tumbled and the driver's door and left back door opened. Bueno and Olmedo, who were not wearing seat belts, were thrown from the car around kilometer 24.5–25 of the highway. Bueno died at the scene. Olmedo died afterwards at Evita Pueblo Hospital. The other passengers were not seriously injured in the crash. Bueno's remains were taken to Lanús, where he was scheduled to perform that Saturday night, and where he was later declared an "Illustrious Citizen" by mayor Manuel Quindimil. His funeral took place there. An estimated 20,000 mourners passed his body and police presence was granted after minor incidents took place. while six medical units were dispatched to assist a number of fans that fainted. Controversy, investigation of the accident and initial reaction Bueno was booked to appear on Saturday on the show Siempre Sábado. Instead, his band played in the show as a tribute without anybody singing. Conspiracy theories surfaced claiming that Bueno's death was linked to a "Bailanta Mafia" and that he received death threats in the days prior to the accident. Bueno's mother did not attend his funeral, but she appeared on the show and said that the question of accident versus murder would soon be clarified. Following Bueno's death, four teen fans committed suicide. The sales of his records and merchandise skyrocketed. Bueno sold 500,000 records during his lifetime, A series of tribute albums was released in the subsequent months by the companies owning his catalogs. His band divided into La Banda del Potro, represented by Leader Music, and Auténtica Banda de Rodrigo, represented by Magenta Records. Both bands released 11 albums, grossing a total of ARS1 million Lawsuits over the estate and burial Initially Bueno's mother claimed to be the absolute owner of his recorded material as well as profits. Judge Ricardo Sangiorg of the 76th Civil Court froze all of the assets held in bank accounts and copyrighted material hosted by SADAIC and the Argentine Musician's Union, as requested by the legal group Cúneo Libarona-Ballester, the representatives of Patricia Pacheco and her son Ramiro. Pacheco claimed that Ramiro Pacheco was the legitimate son of Bueno and requested a DNA test to verify it. The lawyers sent legal notices to Olave, her lawyer Miguel Angel Pierri and Gozalo stating that none of the assets of Bueno's estate could be used or spent until it was decided which one of the parties would inherit them. The DNA tests confirmed that Ramiro Pacheco was the son of Bueno and his surname was changed. Rodrigo's account at Credicoop Bank contained US$300,000, but it was emptied by his brother Ulises before it was blocked by Judge Sangiorg. The copyright holdings could not be transferred to Ramiro Bueno, since the original compositions of his father as well as other assets were registered on his behalf under the name of Ulises. Beatriz Olave negotiated deals over the image of Bueno for use on the jersey of the soccer team Club Atlético Belgrano. The disposition of Rodrigo's body became a subject of dispute. A possible cremation and transport of the ashes to the Córdoba province was denied by judicial authorities in case a future autopsy was needed. The idea of a burial at the Lanús Municipal Cemetery was rejected by his mother due to concerns about vandalism. Instead, she decided to place the body in Las Praderas Cemetery in Monte Grande. Since the investigation into Bueno's death was still open and further tests might be performed, his body was placed in a container by the Justice Ministry. In 2005, five years after his death, the case was closed and the burial was authorized. The body was placed in a marble mausoleum. His mother, manager and friends attended a memorial service where they placed a trophy over the marble grave, symbolizing the appreciation of his relatives, fans and friends. ==Legacy==

Bueno spread cuarteto, originally a typical genre from the Córdoba Province, to a national level. Shortly after his death on the 27th kilometer of the Buenos Aires-La Plata Highway, fans built a "sanctuary" memorial including a statue as a tribute. An estimated crowd of 15,000 fans gathered there on the first anniversary of his death in 2001. The memorial suffered several attacks through the years for unclear reasons. One year after his death, Sony Records released the album Todos Juntos con Rodrigo, which includes the original songs from Sabroso with added vocals from Argentine and international singers such as Celia Cruz and Luciano Pereyra. It soon went gold in Argentina with sales of 30,000 records. The same year, he posthumously received two Carlos Gardel Awards. He received Best Male Tropical Performer for the album A 2000 and Song of the Year for his original "Soy Cordobés". In 1999, Bueno introduced cuarteto singer Walter Olmos to the public scene with performances in several of his concerts in the Buenos Aires province. After Bueno's death, Olmos was popularly regarded as his musical heir, but he only enjoyed brief success before his death while playing Russian roulette in 2002. Rodrigo, La Película (Rodrigo, The Movie) opened on 12 April 2001, at a record 136 Argentine theaters. The movie depicts a love story involving a teenage girl (portrayed by Agustina Cherri) who idolized the singer and deals with Rodrigo's death amid a relationship with a teenage boy (Guillermo Pfening). The movie contains montage of real concerts and songs as background. The film was not as successful as anticipated, however, and was regarded by some as an attempt to make a profit out of the memory of the singer. The entertainment magazine Sin Cortes described it as a "failed film" that "took advantage of the Rodrigo phenomena". Bueno, a Club Atlético Belgrano fan, is still regarded as an important figure within the club's fan base. A group of fans visited his mausoleum in 2011 on the 11th anniversary of his death. The team's jersey depicted his face as a tribute during the 2002–03 season of Argentina's Football First Division. In 2012, the club's administration decided to raise funds to build a bronze statue of the singer to be placed in Gigante de Alberdi Stadium. In 2010, on the tenth anniversary of his death, the Buenos Aires Chamber of Deputies declared him as a salient personality of popular culture in the province. Bueno was the subject of tributes on Argentine television, including one from the show Gracias por Venir, which was attended by some of his relatives and close friends. A tribute concert was performed on 16 January 2013, during the opening of the first Cuarteto Carnival, based on the Bahian Carnival. During the Newsstand Day (Día del Canillita) celebrations, Governor of Córdoba José Manuel de la Sota announced his plans to commission a statue of Bueno. It was placed on the Buen Pastor esplanade, and unveiled prior to the Cuarteto Carnival tribute concert. In 2014, another statue was erected to commemorate the fourteenth anniversary of Bueno's death. The bronx-made sculpture was financed by the City of Buenos Aires, and placed in front of the disco Fantastico Bailable, in the Once neighborhood. The ceremony was conducted by Bueno's friend and television host Daniel "Tota" Santillan. The attendance included Deputy Mayor María Eugenia Vidal and Cabinet Chief Horacio Rodríguez Larreta; Bueno's family, business associates and his fans. A villa miseria in Buenos Aires' Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve was named after him. In January 2015 a new Rodrigo statue was unveiled. Located at the entrance of El Corralón restaurant, the figure featured the singer dressed with the boxer outfit he wore during his Luna Park performances. In October 2018, the biography film of Bueno, El Potro. Lo mejor del amor, directed and co-written by Lorena Muñoz, was released to mixed reviews. Bueno's son, Ramiro gave the rights to make the movie and collaborated with director Muñoz to write the script, which was criticized by some family members including Bueno's mother, Beatriz Olave and brother Ulises Bueno for failing to tell his story as it really was. ==Music style and image==

Bueno's band was a typical cuarteto band, composed of fourteen musicians. Percussion predominated, with a main drummer and additional timbales, complemented by an accordion and an electric organ. The vocal part of the band featured a male quartet as a chorus. His image differed from that of other tropical music bands that wore bright colors and had long, curly hair. Bueno's hair was short, dyed usually in blue, turquoise, red or violet. He wore fitted shirts with jeans and cowboy boots. Bueno was heavily involved with the creative process of his act. He produced his own records, wrote his own songs and designed the visuals for his shows, including the looks of the stage and graphic campaigns, such as flyers and posters. ==Personal life==

Bueno was married twice and had two children. In 1992, he married Mariana Marcone of Uruguay; they had a daughter the next year. The marriage lasted only a couple of months after the birth. His son Ramiro was born in 1997 during his brief second marriage to Patricia Pacheco. ==Discography==