Tito Rojas

Name: Tito Rojas  "El Gallo" (The Rooster)
Date of birth:  June 14, 1955
Place of birth: Humacao, Puerto Rico

Tito Rojas started his career in 1978. He is a well-known salsa singer and bandleader. Rojas was born and raised in the town of Humacao, located on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. He enjoyed singing to his family and would sing the latest salsa tunes with his friends.

Singing career
In 1975, Tito auditioned with Pedro Conga for 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 big hit in 1978.

That same year Rojas joined the Fania All-Stars and had a major hit song with El Campesino (The Farmer). After spending sometime with the Fania All-Stars, Rojas decided to form his own band the "Conjunto Borincano" which was short lived. In 1987 and 1989 he had hits with the salsa versions of the ballads Noche de Bodas (Wedding Night) and Quiereme Como Soy (Love me the way I am). These were accomplished after he joined the "Puerto Rican Power" band.

Trivia:
In 1990, Rojas went "solo" and recorded Condename (1990) and A Mi Estilo (My Style) (1994), however it was his 1995 recording Por Propio Derecho (On my own right), which placed Rojas on the Latin Billboards hit list. He gained utmost recognition when he won a double Platinum Record Award, 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.

In 2002, Rojas and his band performed and recorded "live" from Las Vegas, Nevada. The album is titled Tito Rojas Live: Autenticamente En Vivo with Roberto Roena as a special guest on the bongos. His latest album Sin Commentarios was released in 2007.


Discography:
1980 - Tito Rojas y el Conjunto Borincano Tito Rojas and the Borincano
1990 - Sensual
1992 - Condename  Condemn Me
1994 - Todo a Cambiado Everything in Exchange
1994 - A Mi Estilo My Style
1995 - Con Velo y Corona
1995 - Tito Rojas
1995 - Por Derecho Propio On My Own Right
1996 - Humildemente Humbly
1997 - Pal' Pueblo For My People
1997 - Salsa Mixes y Mas Mixes
1999 - Alegrias y Penas Happiness and Sadness
2000 - Rompiendo Noches Breaking Nights
2001 - Quiero Llegar a Casa I want to go home
2003 - Canta El Gallo The Rooster Sings
2003 - El De Siempre Same as always
2003 - Perseverencia Perseverance
2004 - Tradicional Traditional
2005 - Borron y Cuenta Nueva
2007 - Sin Comentarios

 
By Lourd Vijay

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About the Author: Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in) in India.