Bolivian singer, songwriter, record producer, and poet Hiroshi Claudio Ishida Ruiz, who performed as “Ocasional Talento,” died on June 26. He was 29; no cause of death was mentioned, though he did post a black-backgrounded “thank you” message shortly before he died. Ruiz became a teenage skateboarder and punk, using his Ocasional Talento persona in his hip-hop and “boom bap” (drum-heavy) music. In 2021 he formed the band band Vinilo 54 and released his first album, SÓLIDO; the following year, he was nominated as Best New Artist at the Bolivia Music Awards (he won Best Urban Artist in 2024). He had just performed at the Nuna Espacio Arte theater on June 21, and had a full schedule ahead of him. Ruiz explained in 2021 that “I respect all art forms, but I faithfully believe in the idea that we can come to think beyond a catchy melody, rather in a combination of lyrics and music that makes your senses and neurons dance, expressing a message of momentum, zero stress and an eagerness to make dreams a more possible reality. My lyrics speak of love, anger, peace, pain and smiling despite the problems.”
