The veteran Puerto Rican salsa player Tito Rojas, Who died last Saturday of an alleged heart attack at the age of 65, was laid to rest on Tuesday, December 29, in his hometown of Humacao, Puerto Rico, and will be buried Wednesday.
The crowd outside the Colosseum Marcelo Trujillo Panisse sang in one voice his hit “No One Is Eternal,” which calls on people not to suffer for people who die. Some people danced salsa and others cried.
The chronicle of the middle Puerto Rican Primera Hora details that the arrival of the hearse at the Colosseum Marcelo Trujillo Panisse, around 1:00 pm, provoked the fervor of the fans who challenged the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic to honor those they recognize, not only for their salsa power, but for their human quality.
Shouts of “Tito, Tito” and others that recalled some of his popular phrases, such as “Perdona sae ‘” and “Agafa pa’ casa teva”, framed the moment when several musicians from Rojas’ orchestra charged the coffin to the inside of the coliseum to start the public vigil which lasted until 6:00 pm
A Puerto Rican flag served as a background to the platform where the coffin was located, which was opened for the observation of the hundreds of admirers who came to say goodbye to their idol. Tears, gestures and words of disbelief still reflected the emotion of the people at the sudden loss of the performer.
Tito Rojas’ funeral will be tomorrow, Wednesday, December 30, in a cemetery in the village of Humacao itself, but exclusively for the family.
Rojas, known as “El Gall salser”, popularized the songs “Semper seré”, “Senyora de matinada” and “She is my wife”. It was very popular in the Dominican Republic.
It was relatives of the performer who found him on the ground and without vital signs on the balcony of a residence in the Teules neighborhood of Humacao, a municipality on the east coast of Puerto Rico.
The mayor of his native Humacao, Luis Raúl Sánchez Hernández, decreed five days of mourning from Saturday.