[16] Ruiz became an alcoholic and drug user following the death of his mother in a car accident and the murder of his girlfriend, an aspect of his personal life that was emphasized by the media.

[6] With singles "Esta cobardía", "Como le gustan a usted", "El camionero", "Cosas Nativas", and "Ahora me toca a mí" meeting lesser success, Solista pero no Solo ended 1986 as the best-selling Tropical/Salsa album of the year in the United States.

[23] During this period, Tite Curet Alonso, who at the request of Richie Viera, the composer wrote a song for Viti based on the life of the brothers titled "Todo se Queda en Familia".

[24] Following the performance of this production, Ruiz became one of several soloists who popularized the subgenre known as salsa romántica, including Eddie Santiago, Lalo Rodríguez, Tony Vega, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Tito Nieves.

His third album, En vivo... y a todo color, was released a year later and managed to sell over 200,000 copies despite Ruiz's career being affected by his addictions.

[33] During this timeframe he outsold Sergio Vargas, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Xavier, Juan Luis Guerra, Jerry Rivera, and Rey Ruiz.

[39] In 1996, Ruiz's liver began to fail leading to a hospitalization and a temporary coma, during which his vocal cords were damaged when an intubation process was undertaken.

[43] The worst of these bouts resulted in a temporary coma, where he was placed on a respirator, his case considered virtually hopeless by the staff at University Hospital.

[43] Knowing the severity of his health, Ruiz developed an interest in religion, initially becoming involved with Santería and adapting his clothing and furbishing his house with figures of orishas.

[66] During this meeting, the singer negotiated the inclusion of a song that reflected the changes he had experienced – "Vuelvo a Nacer" written by Myriam Valentín (Urrutia's wife), who was a poet.

[69] During this period he experienced a decline in health and increasing pain that interrupted some performances and delayed the date scheduled to begin work on his next album.

[86] Days later, his condition improved and Ruiz gave an interview to Paco Navarro of Mega 97.9 to address his health, thank fans for their support, and assert that he had faith, as the station organized a tribute.

[106] His former booking agent, Carrie Sánchez, acknowledged that they had been preparing for this event since he first fell ill.[5] The Mass was large but ordinate, and mourners systematically passed through a set of barricades to give gifts, bring flowers, personal messages of appreciation, or to pray or pay homage to Ruiz in their own way.

"[4] The final day of his wake in this funeral house, his band fulfilled Ruiz's demand to provide a free show with Viti singing some of his brother's songs despite his grief.

[108] In Puerto Rico, the process more closely resembled a baquiné, a local funerary rite usually reserved for children; instead of mourning, the person's life is celebrated and honored in joyous fashion; his body was received with plena (music and dance).

[110] Among the artists performing were: Tito Rojas, Ismael Miranda, Roberto Roena and his former bands La Solución and the Tommy Olivencia Orquesta.

[111] The following day, his body was moved to the adjacent Mayagüez City Hall and received the honors reserved for a distinguished son; a public wake was held while more musicians played his repertoire.

[111] Following this, Salvador visited the members of his family who lived in Puerto Rico, including his grandmother, to bid them farewell before returning to Paterson.

[112] There, Ruiz's final wake was held at the Minchin Funeral Home, attended by a similar numbers of public individuals and friends who lived in the area.

[40] During the decade that followed his death, Viti decided to keep his brother's music alive, singing his hits as he grew successful throughout Latin America, particularly in Peru and Colombia.

[120] It was only after seeing the masses mourning, and singing his songs, that Ruiz, Jr. embraced his role as the son of someone of influential in the genre, and accepted the responsibility of continuing this legacy.

[26][121][122] He performed at this event along with: Lalo Rodríguez, Roberto Torres, José Alberto "El Canario", Luis Enrique, Servando y Florentino, Hansel, Luisito Carrión, Paquito Guzmán, Tommy Olivencia, Adalberto Santiago, Tito Allen, Son Iyá, and local artist Caco Senante.

[120] Despite admitting to being nervous prior to the event due to the presence of established salsa performers, Ruiz, Jr. hoped that his long training would prove sufficient to please a public that admired his father.

[120] On August 24, 1999, Cheo Feliciano released his own tribute to Ruiz and other late salsa singers, Una voz... Mil recuerdos in which "El camionero" was reinterpreted.

[128] Eventually, the sound engineer discovered Charlie Cruz, then a young salsa singer from Naguabo, Puerto Rico, who happened to have been inspired by Ruiz and Lavoe.

[128] The singer attempted instead to record the themes using his own style as an homage, naming his production Huellas (meaning "footprints") in reference to the trailblazing done by Ruiz decades earlier.

[128] Urrutia was among those involved in its production, and the cover features an image of Cruz standing near Ruiz's grave and a note addressed to the late singer.

[15] Five years after his death, Universal Music Latino released Éxitos Eternos which includes the unfinished track "Que Siga la Fiesta".

[9] Its organizer, focused the narrative of the festival on an anti-drug message, and noted in a later interview that Ruiz was an example of an unexpected death caused by a life of excess that had impacted him personally.

[133] While performing, Ruiz was a tenor, and his voice was described as decidedly juvenile sounding despite his physical age, something that he employed to execute a style that was regarded as "dazzling" and "passionate".