THE manager of beloved merengue singer Rubby Pérez painfully recalled his final conversation with his longtime friend, hours before the roof of a nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed.
As emergency rescue workers continue to search through the rubble where Jet Set Club, in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, once stood, the death toll now stands at 221, with more than 200 others injured.
The unthinkable tragedy occurred just before 1 am on Tuesday as hundreds of revelers descended into the iconic nightclub for its weekly Monday merengue nights.
The spectacle was attended by renowned Dominican celebrities, former Major League Baseball players, and local politicians, who all gathered to witness Pérez, who was booked as the evening’s headliner.
Enrique Paulino, Pérez’s manager, remembered his final conversation with the Volvere singer, 69, hours before he took the stage on that fateful night.
“Rubby played there several times, unfortunately that was his last performance,” Paulino told The U.S. Sun in Spanish from Santo Domingo.
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“He was excited to play, we spoke briefly before he went to perform at around 9 pm, and we were talking about things we were going to buy and stuff, and he said, ‘Okay, we try all that right now when I get off stage.’
“I said, ‘Okay, when you finish, get out of there quickly. Don’t stay there too long, and we’ll finish talking once you’re done.'”
Paulino said that before every performance, Pérez would leave his cell phone with his security, so it was not a surprise for the singer to respond late to text messages and calls.
“He always leaves his phone with his security when he performs, but after that, there was no communication, and then I saw all the reports on the news about the roof collapsing,” a heartbroken Paulino said.
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“I was holding onto hope that we would reunite.”
UNTHINKABLE TRAGEDY
Disturbing videos shared on social media by witnesses present for the merengue night showed the moments the roof of the disco caved in as Pérez and his musicians were on the stage performing for a packed audience.
Footage and images from the collapse site flooded news outlets and social media, as rescue workers frantically searched for survivors well into the night, using heavy machinery, drones, dogs, and their bare hands to move debris and concrete.
As of Thursday, the death toll has climbed to 221 dead and 200 more injured.
Among those killed were former MLB sluggers Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, fashion designer Martin Polanco, and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the Monte Cristi province.
Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said some of his family members were in the club when the roof collapsed.
An emotional Martinez said he had been unable to contact them, but he’s going to be strong.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on an X post on Wednesday that one US citizen and a US legal resident were also killed.
Pérez died instantly, Paulino said, and his body was finally recovered from the rubble on Wednesday morning.
“He died on stage because a piece of concrete, maybe weighing tons, fell on top of him,” Paulino told The U.S. Sun.
The manager said one of Pérez’s saxophonists was also killed in the incident.
I gave him a nickname, I called him Rubby Pérez Noble Heart. That’s how I remember him.
Enrique Paulino, Rubby Pérez’s manager
” There was a musician who’s a saxophonist who also died because a block of concrete fell on his head,” he added.
“He died instantly also. One of the choristers suffered a broken ankle, and another of the dancers suffered a fractured foot and his ankle.
“In reality, Rubby suffered an instant fatal blow, and he died on stage immediately. The other musicians are thankfully alive, they’re injured, but alive.
“The other musicians were found immediately. The same night, the roof collapsed, maybe an hour and a half later, they were found. The other musicians didn’t get trapped.”
Paulino continued, “Everything was so immediate. While they were playing, at one point there’s was like sand coming down from the ceiling and then it collapsed.
“And everyone was left there, there were many people screaming, the audience, screaming for help.
“Some of them were able to escape, but unfortunately, Rubby died. His remains were trapped.
“He couldn’t escape. It just all happened so fast, there was no time for dialogue, the only thing that crossed their mind was how to save their lives.”
A COUNTRY MOURNING
Dominican officials are still investigating what caused the ceiling to collapse.
Jet Set opened its doors in 1973 as a club and restaurant, according to the local newspaper, Listin Diario.
The nightspot had undergone renovations in 2010 and 2015, the paper reported.
In 2023, a fire erupted at the location after a power plant was struck by lightning.
Jet Set Club’s owners released a statement saying they are with the victims and their families, sharing “their anguish.”
“There are no words to express the pain this event has caused,” the statement read.
“As the Jet Set family, we are with you. To you, mothers, fathers, siblings, children, and loved ones of those affected: you can count on us.”
Mourners gathered at Pérez’s funeral service in Santo Domingo’s National Theater on Thursday as they paid one final tribute to the Tu Vas a Volar singer.
RUBBY PEREZ NOBLE-HEARTED
Paulino lamented that the world lost a great human being with a noble heart.
“I remember everything [about Pérez], his love, his humility, his simplicity, the kind person he was,” Paulino told The U.S. Sun.
“He was a noble, loving human being. A person who didn’t have an ounce of envy, who made others happy.
“He never had anything of grandeur, nothing like that. He was an artist who never had an ego. Many artists get filled with ego, he did not.
“He was always a person who handled himself with love, love for his fans, with everyone.
“I gave him a nickname, I called him Rubby Pérez Noble Heart. That’s how I remember him, and that legacy will stay with him for life, how he was as a person, as a human being.”
Paulino added, “His kids are like my nephews, my kids called him uncle Rubby.
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“Our relationship was not simply a manager and artist relationship, our bond was more like brothers.
“It’s a relationship that bounded us more than simply businesses. Outside of an artist, the world lost a great human being.”
