Salsa great Tito Rojas RIP

Renowned Salsa vocalist Tito Rojas died on Saturday, December 26th. The cause of death was allegedly a heart attack at a family home in his home town of Humacao, Puerto Rico. He was 65 years old. Rojas nicknamed “El Gallo Salsero” offered his last performance, a virtual Christmas celebration last Thursday, Christmas Eve together with his orchestra on his You Tube page.

Born Julio Cesar Rojas Lopez, Tito released his first recording with Pedro Conga in 1972. He joined Justo Betancourt and BorinCuba and recorded “Distincto y Differente” (1977) and “Presencia” (1978). He left the group but Betancourt produced Tito’s first solo albums: “Borincuba con Amor: Presenta A Tito Rojas” in 1978 and “Borincuba Aqui” in 1979. Rojas also recorded with Conjunto Borincano and Luisito Ayala’s Puerto Rican Power during the 1980’s. Rojas made his mark as a solo artist in the early 1990’s recording a string of hits for the Musical Productions Label including the mid 90’s mega hit “Lo Que Te Queda“. Rojas had the talent of combining the elements of Salsa Dura (hard swinging Salsa), his unique vocal tone along with commercial pop elements which added to his mass appeal. He kept putting out the hits on the MP label until he started releasing his music on his own TR label in 2012. His last recording was “Un Gallo Para La Historia” released in 2019 on JN Records. He collaborated on a duet with Gilberto Santa Rosa on Santa Rosa’s acclaimed “Colegas” recording which came out earlier this year.

HIs last performance was a homey Salsa Christmas affair which showcased songs from his Christmas recording “Navidad Con Tito Rojas-Canta Gallo Canta” on MP. Rojas was sitting down on a stool was in fine voice backed by a powerful, smaller version of his orchestra augmented by a cuatro that gave a taste of Puerto Rico folklore that added to his swinging holiday Salsa.

Rojas was well known for his fiery performances and was celebrated as one of Salsa’s big stars. He will be missed! RIP Tito Rojas