Richie Ray - Born-again Christian

Born-again Christian

All of these things spoke of success, but Ray suffered strong emotional problems during this time. The despair he felt led him into alcohol and drug abuse. He felt tormented by his addictions, however, and wanted to change his life.

In August of that year, he surprised many when he announced that he had become a born-again evangelical Christian. The professed experience radically changed his career and life. At first, Cruz refused to accept Ray's change, but within two months Cruz himself became a convert.

In spite of these dramatic changes, Ray & Cruz fans continued to support the duo. The 1976 release of Reconstrucción went "Gold" (their ninth). The album included their smash hit single "Juan En La Ciudad". They followed with Viven in 1977, De Nuevo 'Los Durísimos' Again (1980), and their final release on Vaya Records, Los Inconfundibles (1987) in which Ray and Cruz announced their retirement from Salsa music. All of these were successful releases.

Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz lost most of their fans and found opposition among the members of their own faith when they suggested the idea of Christian Salsa. They stood their ground, however, and little by little, they started to regain the confidence of their fans and fellow Christians. They abandoned secular salsa and recorded salsa with a Christian message, reworking many of their worldly hits into religious themes. Some of these include "El Sonido La Bestia", "Más Que Vencedores", and "Aguzate". They also created some new ones, like "Los Fariseos", "Timoteo", and "Sipriano"

The sincerity of their Christian beliefs was not just conveyed in their music. Both Ray and Cruz are pastors, and they have founded more than 70 churches throughout Puerto Rico and the United States. In addition, Ray founded the Salvation Records label as an outlet for Christian music. Then, he continued his music career although his long-time friend, Cruz, had retired. During "retirement", however, both Cruz and Ray released albums with previously recorded numbers and with other bands or singers. Richie Ray is now a pastor in Cape Coral under the CLM fellowship.

In 1991, Ray and Cruz reunited for successful concert appearances in San Juan and again in New York. They reunited again in 1999 for the "Sonido Bestial VIP" concert in the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez located in Bayamón, they sang some of their early hits together with some of their religious songs and the concert was recorded live. The outcome was so impressive that they were offered a contract by Universal Records, the recording was selected as one of the best recordings of 1999 and helped bring the pair back into the limelight of the Puerto Rican music scene. The pair has continued active in the music scene since.