Tito Gómez (born Humberto Luis Gómez Rivera April 9, 1948 in Juana Díaz,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

– died June 11, 2007 in Cali, Colombia) was a Puerto Rican salsa singer.

Group career

His musical career started at the age of 15 singing with the Conjunto Antoanetti before joining the Sonora Ponceña as co-lead vocalist in 1967. In 1973 Ponceña trumpeter Joe Rodriguez, percussionist Mikey Ortiz and Gómez broke away and formed La Terrifica. Later, Gómez joined Ray Barretto's band sharing vocal duties with

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...

most notably on the 1975 ''Barretto'' album.''Los Angeles Times'' "Tito Gomez, 59; vocalist for popular salsa bands" June 14 2007
/ref> by Gómez and Ruben Blades. The following year he returned to La Sonora Ponceña where he remained for two years. In 1979 he moved to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to join La Amistad, a short-lived project with former members of La Dimension Latina. In 1982 he went solo once again and returned to Puerto Rico. In 1985, he joined Colombian band Grupo Niche, relocated to Colombia, and sang lead vocals with them for eight years.

Solo career and death

He went solo in the early 1990s making seven albums in nine years for

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

-based Musical Productions. His debut ''Un Nuevo Horizonte'' included a hit single "Dejala" featuring

Tito Rojas Julio César Rojas López, better known by his stage name Tito Rojas (June 14, 1955 – December 26, 2020) and also known as "El Gallo Salsero", was a Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter. Early years Tito Rojas was born and raised in the ...

. Allmusic "Tito Gomez"/ref> Gómez's musical career came to a temporary end when he was convicted for transporting counterfeit money in the United States in 2000, serving time in a federal prison. Upon release in 2004 went back to Puerto Rico to his hometown Juana Diaz and relaunched his solo career. He was in the middle of a reunion tour of Colombia with Grupo Niche when he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on June 11, 2007 in Cali, Colombia.

References

1948 births 2007 deaths People from Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Salsa musicians {{Caribbean-singer-stub