Cover Story - The Life and Death of Hilton Ruiz (cont'd)
“[The doctor] tells me, you need to get to
New Orleans right now,” she describes the
frightening phone conversation. “Your father
could die at any minute.”
It is obvious that this was difficult for Aida.
She appeared on the verge of tears as she
recounted her determination to get to New
Orleans right away—even though there were
no direct flights at that time. Finally, after
finding a 3-stop flight to New Orleans, Aida,
along with her mother were headed south.
“We traveled to New Orleans in a state
of total chaos and panic...my Mom literally
took off her shoes at La Guardia Airport, ran
through the hallways with me chasing behind
her picking up her shoes and went directly to
the front desk to check in. The airline representative
told her that she had to get in line
and she explained that her husband was dying
in New Orleans. The airline representative
said that if the other passengers on line
would let her get in front of them, she could
check in. So my Mother turned around and
announced to a crowd of 40 or more people, ‘PLEASE LET ME CHECK IN I HAVE TO GET
TO MY HUSBAND, HE’S DYING IN NEW
ORLEANS!’ and the entire crowd responded
in unison, GO AHEAD!” Aida recalls.
It took 10 hours to get to New Orleans
that night. During one of the three layovers,
Aida spoke with a New Orleans detective
who told her that her father had been intoxicated
and fallen on Bourbon Street. At
the time Aida was relieved that it was “just
a fall” and thanked the officer for getting her
father medical attention. However gratitude
soon changed to disbelief when she finally
reached her father’s hospital bed.
“There is no way that he fell. I looked at
him and thought, ‘I recognize his body, it
says Hilton Ruiz on the bracelet, but look at
him, that is not a fall’. It was crazy!,” Aida
laments. “It was brutal and it was gruesome.
He was still bleeding profusely, out of his
mouth and out of his nose. I could not figure
out what was going on.”
Though the New Orleans Police Department
closed the case and ruled it an accident,
the Ruiz family maintains their belief
that Hilton was the victim of a brutal attack.
They are currently taking the necessary legal
steps to have the case re-opened and have
the investigation intensified. Unfortunately,
at this time no further details about the incident
can be printed, out of respect for the
Ruiz family and the case they are trying to
build.
“When the police decided that Hilton Ruiz’
death was an accident he was still on life
support and was considered brain dead,”
she explains. “The Chief of Police showed
me the surveillance video. It was black and
white and it was a far shot—but you can see
my father running out of the club, across
Bourbon St and falling. You can’t see if he
had already been hurt.”
“I buried him with a very special bracelet he brought me back from Germany,” Aida says. “A tri- colored heavy gold bracelet with sapphires on the clasp. I literally took it off at the viewing and wrapped it around his hands. I miss it, but at least I know that he was buried with something that was so special to me. He gave me so much...so I thought it was a way of showing dedication, love, thanks and appreciation.”
Looking for Closure
Though she hasn’t been back to New Orleans
since the incident, Aida says that she
holds no resentment toward the city and the
many people who were kind and helpful to
her during the terrible ordeal. She still 
believes
that New Orleans is a great city and
looks forward to returning there someday.
Most importantly, Aida would like to share
the music her father created throughout his
life, and showcase his talent of blending
rhythms and bringing people together from
all over the world. She looks forward to hon
oring his memory by exposing new ears to
the music of her father, Hilton Ruiz.
“I look forward to closure, to going back
to the city and to finding justice, if possible,”
she states. “I think my father would want me
to focus on all the tremendous music he created,
and continue to share this with generations
to come. That is my main focus.”
When asked about his feelings on the
musical contributions of Hilton Ruiz, fellow
Puertorriqueño, pianist and jazz enthusiast,
Eddie Palmieri (a man to whom Hilton dedicated
numerous songs) said the following:
“When you are talking about Hilton Ruiz, it
is not Latin Jazz that you are talking about.
Hilton Ruiz was so well rounded. Yes, he
started playing with the Latin Orchestras but
when he moved away from that genre, he
really became a true Jazz musician. Hilton
Ruiz was a Jazz pianist and in my opinion
one of the finest pianists we’ve had, que era
Puertorriqueño, con un tremendo orgullo (a
Puerto Rican with a tremendous pride). He
was a great Jazz player, which is an honor
not bestowed on just anyone. He was a
unique talent and a great friend. He looked
to me with a tremendous respect, because
he grew up listening to me, and throughout
the years I developed a great admiration for
him. For my part, and for my brother Charlie,
we had a tremendous respect for Hilton
Ruiz, and his death was truly a great loss.”
Perhaps larger in death than in life, Hilton Ruiz was a profound Jazz musician. His legacy continues through the constant work of his daughter Aida, and his irreplaceable compositions and valuable contributions to the art of music. Though his life was unjustly cut short, Ruiz’s talents and accomplishments continue to be remembered as the music and more notably the Jazz that will forever remain.music and more notably the Jazz that will forever remain.
ULM Podcast