Julio César Rojas López (June 14, 1955), better known as Tito Rojas, was one of Puerto Rico’s most beloved salsa vocalists. Born and raised in the town of Humacao, Rojas started singing in family gatherings and landed a role as lead singer in Pedro Conga’s International Orchestra in 1975. Towards the end of the decade, he lent his voice to Conjunto Borincuba before joining celebrated salsa outfit Fania All-Stars, with whom he recorded the hit “El Campesino” in 1983. Rojas fronted the short-lived outfit Conjunto Borincano and then scored the hit singles “Noche de Bodas” (1987) and “Quiéreme Tal Como Soy” (1989) with Puerto Rican Power. In the early 90s, he went solo with the albums Sensual (1990), Condéname (1992), and A Mi Estilo (1994). His breakthrough moment arrived in 1995 with the full-length Por Propio Derecho, whose lead single “Esperándote” topped Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart and received a nomination for Tropical Song of the Year at the 1996 Lo Nuestro Awards. That same year, he won the Paoli Prize for Best Salsa Artist of the Year and an ACE Award. Alegrías y Penas (1999) earned “El Gallo Salsero” his second Number 1 hit with the single “Por Mujeres Como Tú” and went platinum after selling 200,000 copies in the US. Rojas continued to release music at a prolific rate during the subsequent decades, obtaining Latin Grammy nominations for the albums Rompiendo Noches (2000), Quiero Llegar a la Casa (2001), and Un Gallo Para la Historia (2019), his last offering before suffering a heart attack on December 26, 2020.
