Julio César "Tito" Rojas López (June 14, 1955 – December 26, 2020), also known as "El Gallo Salsero", was a Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter.

Early years

Tito Rojas was born and raised in the town of Humacao, Puerto Rico, 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 nominations for Tropical Album of the Year and Tropical Male Artist of the Year in 1993. 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 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 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. The album itself was certified double platinum in the Latin field by the RIAA 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. The album is titled Tito Rojas Live: Autenticamente En Vivo with Roberto Roena as a special guest on the bongos. He released El Viajero in 2014. In 2015, Rojas appeared on Puerto Rican singer Ivy Queen's ninth studio album Vendetta. 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". Rojas was nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album three times in his career for Rompiendo Noches, Quiero Llegar a la Casa, and Un Gallo Para la Historia (which was his last album to be released in his lifetime).| On November 25, 2020, Tito Rojas - "El Gallo Salsero" last live performance was the featured singer on Norberto Vélez's YouTube 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. He was buried at the Pax Christi Cemetery in Humacao, Puerto Rico.

Discography

Billboard charts

Adapted from Billboard.