Rodriguez is an unlikely icon. He is 60 years old, has only recorded 25 songs and has not released any new material in the past 30 years. Yet, his music has influenced and affected scores of South Africans growing up during the past 3 decades. Even as they were ignored by international audiences, songs like ‘Sugarman’ and ‘I Wonder’ have become part of the country’s musical heritage.
This unlikely icon was born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez on 10 July 1942 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Pronounced ‘Seez-toe’, he was given the name by his working class Mexican parents as he was their sixth child.
Nils van der Linden 