the best-selling Tropical/Salsa album of the year in the United States. During the tour that followed, Ruiz performed in unconventional locales including a soccer stadium (in Colombia) and a bullring in Tenerife, Spain. 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". 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. The success of this group led to a general resurgence of salsa which had been struggling before the expansion of merengue music in the tropical categories. His second album, Voy Pa' Encima, was released in 1987 and performed well in Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States. Led by singles "Desnúdate Mujer" and "Mujeres", the album sold over 300,000 copies and earned Ruiz the Latin Artist of the Year Billboard Music Award. The former peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Like its predecessor, it would reach the top of the Billboard list three times, this time alternating with Eddie Santiago's Atrevido y Diferente. A compilation album titled Historia Musical de Frankie Ruiz also reached the top of the Billboard list. 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. Hiatus and return In 1989, Ruiz was involved in an altercation with a flight attendant for which he was sentenced to three years at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. Parallel to this, recording label Rodven records released a new album, Más Grande Que Nunca, which contained the hit "Deseándote". The album achieved platinum sales status and which were used to sustain his family. While in jail, Ruiz underwent a detoxification process. He was allowed a temporary return to Puerto Rico, where he did some recording with Vinny Urrutia. His contract with TH-Rodven expired during his sentence, but it was extended due to pre-established obligations, which led to the schedule of two albums before he was released. Approaching his release, Ruiz began promoting a purported lifestyle change and worked on the release of "Mi Libertad" (My Freedom). The album had 50,000 pre-sale orders. Two songs from the