Santiago de Chile, Chile.- Luis Enrique Gatica Silva has just turned 90 and if that name says little, bolero and ballad lovers have this Chilean singer known as Lucho Gatica among the greatest ones.

‘My father is loved in Cuba, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and so many countries, but of course this Chilean affection is different and special for him,’ his Mexican daughter Juanita Gatica Cortes said.

All this is on occasion of a tribute to the winner of the Latin Grammy Award for Excellence in 2007 in his native Rancagua, in central Chile, where a bronze statue was unveiled at the Regional Theater with his figure and that of his brother, Arturo.

His last album, ‘Historia de un amor’ (History of a Love), dates back to 2013. He made duos with none other than Italian singer Laura Pausini, Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado and Canadian singer and songwriter Michael Bubble, among others.

But much earlier, Lucho Gatica became essential to the romantics of the 1950s and 1960s with successes such as ‘Piel Canela’ (Cinnamon Skin), ‘Contigo en la distancia’ (With You in the Distance), ‘Besame mucho’ (Kiss Me a Lot), ‘El reloj’ (The Clock), ‘No me platiques más’ (Don’t Talk to me Anymore), and the Chilean song ‘Yo vendo unos ojos negros’ (Dark Eyes for Sale).

In January 2008, the Chilean singer received the 2354th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.