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
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
singer and songwriter.
Early years
Tito Rojas was born and raised in the town of
Humacao, Puerto Rico
Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...
, which is located on the east coast of Puerto Rico. There, he received his primary and secondary education. He enjoyed singing to his family and he would also sing the latest salsa tunes with his friends.
Singing career
In 1975, he auditioned for Pedro Conga and his International Orchestra and was hired as a singer. After a short while, he left the band and joined the "Conjunto Borincuba", conducted by
Justo Betancourt, as lead singer. With this band, he participated in the recording of ''Con Amor'' (With Love), which became a "hit" in 1978.
That same year Rojas joined the
Fania All-Stars and had a "hit" song with ''El Campesino'' (The Farmer). After spending some time with the
Fania All-Stars, Rojas decided to form his own band the "Conjunto Borincano", but the venture was short-lived. In 1987 and 1989, he had hits with the salsa versions of the ballads ''Noche de Bodas'' (Wedding Night), and ''Quiereme Tal Como Soy'' (Love me the way I am). These were accomplished after he joined the "Puerto Rican Power" band.
In 1990, Rojas went solo and recorded ''Sensual'' (1990), ''Condename'' (1992), and ''A Mi Estilo'' (At My Style) (1994). ''Condename'' would garner Rojas his first
Lo Nuestro
The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish for "Our Thing") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in the United States. The awards began in ...
nominations for
Tropical Album of the Year and
Tropical Male Artist of the Year in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
.
However, it was his 1995 recording ''Por Propio Derecho'' (On my own right), that placed Rojas on
Latin Billboard's hit list. The album's lead single, "Esperándote" ("Waiting for You") became his first number-one hit on the ''Billboard''
Tropical Airplay
The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, ra ...
chart and was nominated
Tropical Song of the Year at the
1996 Lo Nuestro Awards.
He gained the recognition he always wanted when he won the
Paoli Prize for "Best Salsa Artist of the Year" and an "ACE" Award.
In 1996, Rojas had hits with ''Humildemente'' (Humbly) and ''Pal' Pueblo'' (For my town), he also released ''20th Aniversario'', ''Alegrias y Penas'' and ''Navidad con Tito'' in 1999. ''Alegrias y Penas'' contains the hit song, "Por Mujeres Como Tú" (originally recorded by
Pepe Aguilar
José Antonio Aguilar Jiménez (born August 7, 1968), better known as Pepe Aguilar, is an American singer. - Accessed on June 17, 2011.
From a young age, Aguilar accompanied his parents, Mexican singer-actors Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestr ...
a year earlier), which became his second number-one hit on the Tropical Airplay chart and also earned him another nomination for Tropical Song of the Year at the
2000 Lo Nuestro Awards.
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
in the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
field by the RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
for selling 200,000 copies in the United States.
Later years
In 2002, Rojas and his band performed and recorded "live" from Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. The album is titled ''Tito Rojas Live: Autenticamente En Vivo'' with Roberto Roena as a special guest on the bongos
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
. He released ''El Viajero'' in 2014.[https://itunes.apple.com/my/album/el-viajero/id897198839 El Viajero by Tito Rojas] In 2015, Rojas appeared on Puerto Rican singer Ivy Queen
Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Qu ...
's ninth studio album ''Vendetta
Vendetta may refer to:
* Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight
Film
* ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke
* ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes
* ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), an ...
''. The album was split into four separate albums, one being an album composed entirely of only salsa music. On the salsa album, Rojas dueted with Queen on "Ella Se Hizo Deseo
"Ella Se Hizo Deseo" (''English: She Made a Wish'') is a song by Puerto Rican salsa recording artist Tito Rojas, from his eighth studio album, ''Sensual'' (1990). It was composed by Gustavo Marquez, produced by Julio Merced and Antonio Moreno, a ...
". Rojas was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album
The Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album is an honor presented annually by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and promotes a wider awareness of cultural diversity an ...
three times in his career for ''Rompiendo Noches'',singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
on Norberto Vélez's YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel titled "Sesiones Desde La Loma Ep. 14".
Death
Rojas died on December 26, 2020, at the age of 65, after suffering 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 ...
. He was buried at the Pax Christi Cemetery in Humacao, Puerto Rico
Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...
.
Discography
* ''Aquí Empezó la Historia'' (1972)
* ''Con Amor'' (1978)
* ''Aquí'' (1979)
* ''Con Velo y Corona'' (1980)
* ''Tito Rojas'' (1981)
* ''El Campesino'' (1983)
* ''Todo Ha Cambiado'' (1984)
* ''Tres Mujeres
''Tres mujeres'' (English title: ''Three women'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Roberto Hernández Vázquez for Televisa in 1999-2000. When it came out it was such a success that they added 3x the normal amount of chapters. There are 280 C ...
'' (with Puerto Rican Power) (1987)
* ''Solo Con Un Beso'' (with Puerto Rican Power) (1988)
* ''Sensual
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
'' (1990)
* ''Condéname'' (1992)
* ''A Mi Estilo'' (1993)
* ''Live Salsa Festival de Curazao'' (1994)
* ''Por Derecho Propio'' (1995)
* ''Humildemente'' (1996)
* ''Pa'l Pueblo'' (1997)
* ''Salsa Mixes y Más Mixes'' (1997)
* ''Alegrías y Penas'' (1999)
* ''Navidad Con Tito Rojas'' (1999)
* ''20th Anniversary'' (1999)
* ''Rompiendo Noches'' (2000)
* ''Quiero Llegar a Casa'' (2001)
* ''Auténticamente En Vivo'' (2001)
* ''10th Anniversary'' (2002)
* ''Canta el Gallo'' (2003)
* ''El de Siempre'' (2003)
* ''Perseverencia'' (2003)
* ''Doble Platino'' (2003)
* ''Tradicional'' (2004)
* ''Borrón y Cuenta Nueva'' (2005)
* ''Mejor Que Siempre'' (2006)
* ''Éxitos y Más'' (2007)
* ''Sin Comentarios'' (2007)
* ''Solamente Éxitos'' (2009)
* '' Vida'' (2010)
* '' Independiente'' (2011)
* '' El Viajero'' (2014)
''Billboard'' charts
Adapted from ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
''.
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
References
External links
Official Facebook pageOfficial Myspace pageMusic of Puerto Rico
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Tito
1955 births
2020 deaths
20th-century Puerto Rican male singers
People from Humacao, Puerto Rico
21st-century Puerto Rican male singers
Salsa musicians
Puerto Rican bandleaders