Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018), better known as Lucho Gatica was a Chilean bolero singer, film actor, and television host known as "the King of Bolero." It is estimated that Gatica released more than 90 recordings. He toured a vast portion of the world, having performed in concerts in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He was the uncle of the record producer Humberto Gatica.
Luis Enrique Gatica Silva was born on Aug. 11, 1928, in Rancagua, Chile, roughly 50 miles south of Santiago. His father, José Agustín Gatica Silva, a rancher, died when Lucho, as he was called, was 3, and his seven siblings banded together to support their mother, Juana, who moved into the town center and became a seamstress.Juana played the harp at home and encouraged all her children to sing. Lucho was at first shy of the stage, but his older brother, Arturo, achieved some renown in Chile as a baritone singer, and he recognized Lucho’s talent. Lucho’s first public performance was in a duo with Arturo on a Rancagua radio program when he was 13. They became a team and recorded four folkloric songs for Odeon Records in 1949.
Lucho moved to Santiago at 18 to attend college, where he studied to become a dental technician while continuing to work in music. He soon began recording as a solo artist for Odeon, insisting that the producers allow him to sing romantic songs rather than folk music. His gifts as a pathos-laden balladeer showed themselves immediately.“Me Importas Tú,” which Mr. Gatica recorded in 1951, became a smash hit throughout Latin America, jump-starting his career. He embarked on an international tour in 1954, supported by the Roberto Ingles Orchestra, and received a hero’s welcome in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. He then traveled to London, where he performed on BBC Radio.
Soon after, he began performing regularly in Mexico and Cuba, centres of Latin American show business. He appeared in his first film, “No Me Platiques Más” (“Don’t Tell Me Anymore”), in 1956. Two years later, Mr. Gatica settled permanently in Mexico. In 1959, he travelled to Spain for the first time and received an enthusiastic reception, and by the mid-1960s he had sold more than 22 million records worldwide.
Mr. Gatica gave a bravura performance at Carnegie Hall in 1962 accompanied by Lalo Schifrin’s orchestra; he later sang at the Hollywood Bowl, where he was presented by Nat King Cole. But it was a trip that year to the Philippines, where tens of thousands of fans greeted him, that made Mr. Gatica aware of how broadly his fame had spread.Until almost the end of his life he continued to perform in a classic bolero style throughout the world, sometimes singing in Portuguese and English as well as in Spanish. He released his final album, “Historia de un Amor,” at 85, joined by guests like Michael Bublé and Nelly Furtado.
All told, Mr. Gatica, whose style was marked by a semi-operatic flair and languorous phrasing, recorded more than 800 songs, including the international hits “El Reloj,” “Contigo en la Distancia” and an authoritative rendition of “Bésame Mucho.” He counted Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Nat King Cole as friends and fans.In 2001, Gatica was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. In the same year, his renditions of "La Barca" and "El Reloj" were inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. Gatica himself was one of the recipients of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording in 2008.
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Gatica died in Mexico on 13 November 2018 from pneumonia. President Sebastián Piñera of Chile ordered flags lowered to half-staff and declared Nov. 15 a national day of mourning.
(Edited from The New York Times with help from Wikipedia)