The American singer-songwriter of Mexican origin Sixto Rodríguez, whose life was portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching For Sugar Man” (2012), died Tuesday at the age of 81, his official website reported. “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Díaz Rodríguez passed away today. We express our deepest condolences his daughters -Sandra, Eva and Regan- and his entire family. Rodriguez was 81 years old. May his dear soul rest in peace,” a statement said.

The message adds an epitaph that reads “Maybe today I’ll slip away“, along with the date of Rodríguez’s birth and death (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023). The incredible story of Sixto Rodríguez, whose musical career passed unnoticed in the United States but unknowingly became a star in anti-apartheid South Africa, was portrayed in the hit documentary “Searching For Sugar Man.”

Rodríguez, born in Detroit to Mexican parents, released two rock albums, “Cold Fact” (1970) and “Coming From Reality” (1971), but he abandoned his artistic career very soon, because it did not manage to sell many records. But unknown to him, his songs about the problems of poverty and the underprivileged became part of the message of the fight against racial segregation in South Africa.

This curious story caught the attention of the Swedish Malik Bendjelloul, who directed “Searching for Sugar Man“, which in addition to winning the Oscar for best documentary, won the audience award and the jury award at the Sundance festival. After the popularity of the documentary, the Blue Goose Music record company from Australia bought its song catalog and released both albums are released, and a new compilation of the best of both titled “At his Best”, reviving the artist’s career 40 years later.