Ignacio Ruffino(1906-1973)

Bass opera singer born in Mexico City in 1906 who for many years sang with the prestigious Opera of Mexico in the many productions staged at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in his native city. As such, he had the opportunity to sing with visiting opera notables such as Maria Callas, Mario del Monaco, ,Giulietta Simionato, Giuseppe Di Stefano and many others. Visiting Los Angeles, he met and fell in love with Cuban vocalist Mercedes Villaverde who was then tied to Hollywood studios as a singer and actress. The couple married and decided to form a duo whose repertoire consisted of the most popular tunes and rhythms of Latin America. The duo was well received in Los Angeles and worked their way up to New York City where they settled for a while due to the great demand for their performances. The Ruffino duo was also well received in Miami and Mexico City but by then the couple had procreated two children, Julie (born in Los Angeles) and Carlos (born in Havana, Cuba) and they found it difficult to tour with such small children in tow. The Ruffino duo was dissolved and Ignacio went back to opera. From 1945 to 1954 Mercedes stayed home raising and supervising the education of their offspring. Since the children showed they had inherited their parents' musical talents, Mercedes taught them at home everything she knew about singing and performing as well as making sure they received the proper piano and guitar lessons.

In 1954, Ignacio was recruited by Havana's Pro Arte Musical for their opera season and the whole Ruffino family moved to Cuba. The season was highly praised by the critics, specially the productions of Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. As customary, the company hosted a big cocktail party to celebrate the end of the opera season and the Ruffino clan was in attendance. Somebody suggested that all four of them sing together to entertain the gathering and they quickly obliged. Ignacio, Mercedes, Julie and Carlos united their voices and treated their audience to an impromptu concert that mesmerized everyone. The Ruffinos quartet had been born!

The word spread around Havana, and soon The Ruffinos were in great demand. Their performances on Cuban television enchanted the audience making them national celebrities. It was a new, fresh, enchanting act that not only sang great harmonies but their charismatic family image was something everyone could identified with. It was precisely the public who began calling Ignacio "Papa Rufino" and Mercedes "Mama Ruffino", terms of endearment that remained with them to the end of their lives. The Ruffinos were unstoppable playing at the huge Blanquita Theater (capacity 5,000) and performing for a year at the famous Tropicana Night Club and Casino. Their recordings became radio hits not only in Cuba but all over Latin America giving them an international exposure.They toured the American continent and Europe with fantastic success performing in the best venues of each country. They were also invited to sing their greatest hits in Mexican films and in1959 they starred in their own movie series which demonstrated they could also be very effective as actors in musical comedy. The magic of The Ruffinos ended when Ignacio, the beloved "Papa Ruffino", died in Miami in 1973 due to complications of diabetes. For more information on the legendary quartet, please consult the page The Ruffinos.