Julito Rodríguez

Who is Julito Rodríguez?

Julito Rodríguez Reyes was a Puerto Rican bolero singer, guitarist & composer.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez was acknowledged to be a child prodigy in music, becoming interested in this topic since his early childhood. His father encouraged him to study the violin and soon, he joined the Banda Hatuey as a substitute.

After moving across the island to Ponce, a town located in the south coast, he organized the "Orquesta Hatuey de Ponce".

Julito Rodriguez got his first guitar as a present from his mother. He returned to San Juan in 1946, to study at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, there he joined the ROTC band directed by Rafael Alers. By 1947, Rodriguez had found a new musical passion in the "trio" music. His first "trio" was named "Los Romanceros". The group enjoyed considerable success until 1950, when Rodriguez decided to join the United States military.

Rafael Hernández helped Rodriguez decide to join the world famous trio, Los Panchos, in 1952. With Los Panchos, Rodriguez's fame expanded beyond Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America, as the group made several tours that also included Spain, Portugal, Italy and even Israel and Lebanon in the Middle East.