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I quite like the guy's music, although of course it was overlooked for a long time.
I saw the Sugarman doco that featured his daughters heavily. Apparently they run the business more than he does, as it is said he doesn't even own a cell phone.
Django's girlfriend knows him personally, I heard, and he drops into the Old Miami Bar on Cass sometimes. Lives in Woodbridge.
I first met Rodriguez between classes at Wayne State University. It was on the mall, sunny spring day, a little grassy oasis on the big urban campus in 1970. He sat by me on this elevated patch of grass by the flagpole. He had his acoustic guitar with him and played in that unique style and his own songs. There was for some reason, just the two of us sitting by each other that day. We hit it off right away spending time talking about music, our school interests and life. We stayed in each others lives through our campus years and beyond.
Rodriquez was a bit older and had family responsibilities. So those little visits and playing were luxuries in his busy schedule, he was always on the move to something - work, family, his extended family, gigs, school. He would tell me about gigs and I would go when I could to support him usually in the Cass Corridor and warehouse district. He would also tell me about his recording, and potential deals. His recording stuff, now in hindsight this seems obvious. But back then in Detroit a lot of guys were recording, getting records out on the booming music scene without being “Famous”. But now we know the rest of the story.
If you see him in “Waiting for Sugarman” or his 60 minutes interview, that is who he is. A gentle soul, modest, and who stays close to his roots.
After graduate school I had a job of writing and editing a number of Ethnic related publications. One was a series of Ethnic field trip tours 7 or 8 in total. It was a geographic tour and a compendium of ethnic restaurants, media, bakeries, religious centers, organizations, etc. In 1975 I pulled in my buddy Rodriguez to work with me on the Hispanic one. It worked out well and I could give him a stipend, which he appreciated.
As you can see he branded himself the one word “Rodriquez” even back then. In fact the first day we met I was “my full name” and he “Rodriquez”. His real first name Sixto was rarely used
https://www.detroityes.com/mb/blob:h...6-b6968c29c6f3
I have met him a couple of times over the years, even shared a smoke with him, seen him walking about several times, always distinctive in appearance. Like you say he is a "gentle soul, modest, and who stays close to his roots".
By chance I saw Searching for Sugarman again last week, on HBO I think, recalling how happy we all were for him when he got his belated acclaim in South Africa, then have it boosted with the Academy Award winning documentary.
It prompted us to check into him and we were delighted to see he has a full concert tour ongoing. http://www.rodriguez-music.com/tour-dates/
The film also reminded me of how cool, intellectual and loving his daughters were and how that spoke volumes about him.