El cuatro de enero/January 4th
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Tito Rodríguez ("El inolvidable")! (1923-1973)
A popular singer and bandleader from Santurce, Puerto Rico, Rodríguez started singing at the age of 13 with the group of Ladislao Martínez. Shortly after Tito Rodríguez's parents died, when he was still a teenager, he moved to New York City (in 1940) and lived with his brother Johnny, also a musician. There he joined the band of Xavier Cugat (featured here on January 1st) and then served in the U.S. Army for one year. After the army, he joined the Orchestra of José Curbalo, with whom he was performing one evening at the China Doll Cabaret when he met "a young Japanese chorus girl," Tobi Kei, who would eventually become his wife (From "Remembering Tito Rodríguez and Willie Bobo," latinjazznet.com). She was from Bellingham, Washington, in the U.S. In 1947 Tito Rodríguez went solo with his own band, which he first named Los Diablos del Mambo (Mambo Devils) and then changed to The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra. His nickname, El Inolvidable (The Unforgettable), comes from a song of the same name that he sang in 1963 (the song was composed by Julio Gutiérrez and sold 1.5 million copies - click here to listen). In 1966, Rodríguez and his wife returned to Santurce, Puerto Rico, where they built a Japanese style house that is still popular on tours of the San Juan area (click here to see). Many people say that Tito Rodríguez had a life-long feud with another Puerto Rican great, Tito Puente, and that his song Avísale a mi contrario (que aquí estoy yo) (Tell My Enemy That I Am Here) was directed to him, but at least one comment on a salsa website (HERE) says that this is untrue and that the two Titos were lifelong friends. Tito Rodriguez had a much shorter life than his rival/friend Tito Puente, as he died from leukemia at the age of 50 in 1973. His last appearance was in Madison Square Garden on February 2, 1973. His son, Tito Rodríguez Jr., represented him as he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
Today, Tito Rodriguez Jr. keeps his father's music alive by continuing The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra (and he also plays a mean game of tennis, apparently, as his website bio states that he was once ranked 150th in the world - click HERE to read all about this fascinating guy). In 2010 the popular reggae group Cultura Profética released a modern version of Tito Rodríguez's song Me faltabas tú on their album Dulzura (click HERE to listen).
For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Other January 4th birthdays:
María Isabel (María Isabel López Rodríguez) (1995- ) - A singer from Huelva, Spain, who won Eurovisión Infantil at the age of 9 in 2004 with her song Antes muerte que sencilla. In 2015 she released an album Yo decido, including the hit single La vida sólo es una.
Iago Falque (1990- ) - A professional soccer player from Galicia, Spain, he has played with both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (Click here for a short "perfil" video of him in 2013). He currently plays for the Italian club Torino.
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| Image from Slacker Radio (www.slacker.com) Noro Morales, who he sings with on this album, was also born on January 4th |
A popular singer and bandleader from Santurce, Puerto Rico, Rodríguez started singing at the age of 13 with the group of Ladislao Martínez. Shortly after Tito Rodríguez's parents died, when he was still a teenager, he moved to New York City (in 1940) and lived with his brother Johnny, also a musician. There he joined the band of Xavier Cugat (featured here on January 1st) and then served in the U.S. Army for one year. After the army, he joined the Orchestra of José Curbalo, with whom he was performing one evening at the China Doll Cabaret when he met "a young Japanese chorus girl," Tobi Kei, who would eventually become his wife (From "Remembering Tito Rodríguez and Willie Bobo," latinjazznet.com). She was from Bellingham, Washington, in the U.S. In 1947 Tito Rodríguez went solo with his own band, which he first named Los Diablos del Mambo (Mambo Devils) and then changed to The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra. His nickname, El Inolvidable (The Unforgettable), comes from a song of the same name that he sang in 1963 (the song was composed by Julio Gutiérrez and sold 1.5 million copies - click here to listen). In 1966, Rodríguez and his wife returned to Santurce, Puerto Rico, where they built a Japanese style house that is still popular on tours of the San Juan area (click here to see). Many people say that Tito Rodríguez had a life-long feud with another Puerto Rican great, Tito Puente, and that his song Avísale a mi contrario (que aquí estoy yo) (Tell My Enemy That I Am Here) was directed to him, but at least one comment on a salsa website (HERE) says that this is untrue and that the two Titos were lifelong friends. Tito Rodriguez had a much shorter life than his rival/friend Tito Puente, as he died from leukemia at the age of 50 in 1973. His last appearance was in Madison Square Garden on February 2, 1973. His son, Tito Rodríguez Jr., represented him as he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
Today, Tito Rodriguez Jr. keeps his father's music alive by continuing The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra (and he also plays a mean game of tennis, apparently, as his website bio states that he was once ranked 150th in the world - click HERE to read all about this fascinating guy). In 2010 the popular reggae group Cultura Profética released a modern version of Tito Rodríguez's song Me faltabas tú on their album Dulzura (click HERE to listen).
For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Other January 4th birthdays:
María Isabel (María Isabel López Rodríguez) (1995- ) - A singer from Huelva, Spain, who won Eurovisión Infantil at the age of 9 in 2004 with her song Antes muerte que sencilla. In 2015 she released an album Yo decido, including the hit single La vida sólo es una.
Iago Falque (1990- ) - A professional soccer player from Galicia, Spain, he has played with both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (Click here for a short "perfil" video of him in 2013). He currently plays for the Italian club Torino.
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