Ruth Fernandez, known as "El Alma de Puerto Rico hecha cancion" (The Soul of Puerto Rico made song), died Monday, the Latin Music Examiner reported. She was 92 and had been battling Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis for nearly a decade.
She was born May 23, 1919, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the youngest of five sisters. By the age of 14, she had learned to play the piano and had become a professional singer.
After singing on the radio and performing in nightclubs, at dances and casinos, she recorded "Cuando Vuelvas" ("When You Return"). The song, written by Myrta Silva and recorded by Columbia Records, became her first hit.
Fernandez was elected to the Puerto Rican Senate in 1972 as a member of the Popular Democratic Party. She served until 1981.
According to Latin Music Examiner, Fernandez was the first performer of popular music hired by the Metropolitan Opera, the first Puerto Rican woman to record with an American orchestra, and the first woman to perform with a Puerto Rican orchestra.
