Biography (Brief)

Tito Rubio was born in the tiny village of Monsagro, Spain. At the age of 8 years old he was given his first guitar on the airplane as his family immigrated to Australia. He performed into the 1980's throughout Melbourne with various groups from Spain. Tito returned to Spain in 1986 and continued his studies with Merengue de Cordoba. In 1989, Tito moved to Madrid to continue study with Juan Maya Marote. During this time, Tito practiced his craft in the studios of Amor de Dios as accompanist for the great maestro Ciro, and dancers such as Belen Maya and Belen Fernandez. Tito appeared in the Festival de la Ville in Madrid in 1989 as part of Juan Maya Marote’s Danza Espanola Contemporanea and performed in the Royal Palace of Morocco for Prince Felipe of Spain and King Hussein of Morocco. In 1995 he toured the United States with Maria Benitez's Teatro Flamenco. In addition to the US, Tito has performed throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2004 Tito became the first flamenco artist to receive a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. He also received an Artistic Fellowship for Folk and Traditional Arts by the PA Council for the Arts in 2004.

Tito is currently actively performing and directing Flamenco del Encuentro and the Herencia Arabe project. He also teaches aspiring flamenco guitarists privately in Philadelphia in addition to accompanying his wife Anna's workshops at the Mid-East and Spanish Arts Center in South Philadelphia. Tito is also currently a musician-in-residence at the Philadelphia Folklore Project. (Recordings of Tito's music can be heard on the Philadelphia Folklore Project page.) Tito recently returned from Sevilla where he continues immersive studies of the art of flamenco guitar.

Biography (Full)

Flamenco guitarist Hipolito (Tito) Rubio was born in 1954 in Monsagro, Spain, a small village in western Salamanca, about thirty miles from the border with Portugal. He remembers seeing his grandfather playing the tamborin (drum) and flute in town processions, as well as playing castanets and dancing the jota, a regional traditional dance. He also remembers hearing brass bands, attending fiestas, and playing with gypsy children when he was small. Rubio’s father was a music aficionado and was the first to put a guitar in his hands, a toy guitar bought in Madrid as the family was on its way to a new life in Australia. In the early 1960s many Spaniards emigrated to Australia, Tito Rubio’s family among them.

Rubio eventually settled in Melbourne, which had a large Spanish population; they remained in that city for almost thirty years, where Rubio started to play guitar, studied flamenco with Manolo Varela and others, and eventually became active as a performer in the city’s Spanish community. As his knowledge grew, he appeared on radio and TV broadcasts in Australia, and became known as something of a boy wonder for his abilities. In the early 1980s Rubio began to accompany singers and dancers, which requires a distinct set of skills, as well as continuing to play solo.

In the mid-1980s he relocated to Spain, where he was exposed to traditional flamenco families for the first time and studied with some of the world¹s greatest guitarists. From 1986 through the early 1990s, Rubio immersed himself in flamenco life, taking every opportunity to observe and participate in classes, performances, and flamenco gatherings in fiestas and bars. One of his principal teachers at this time was Juan Maya Marote, of the famous Marote gypsy clan, and Rubio says that to this day, other guitarists recognize Marote¹s style in his playing, particularly in his strong rasqueados , a particular type of strum-flourish that uses all the fingers. He also studied with David Serva, an American who has been accepted as an authentic player among flamencos in Spain. Rubio accompanied dance classes in flamenco studios in Madrid for Ciro, who is recognized as one of the greatest dancers and teachers in the country.

Tito appeared in the Festival de la Ville in Madrid in 1989 as part of the company of Danza Espanola Contemporanea of Juan Maya Marote and performed in the Royal Palace of Morocco for Prince Felipe of Spain and King Hussein of Morocco. Tito performed with companies from Spain in various cities in Asia and in Europe. He made an extensive tour of the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Cairo, Egypt. In 1995 he toured the United States and worked for several months with Maria Benitez’ Teatro Flamenco in New Mexico. It was on this trip that he met his wife and artistic partner, Philadelphia native Anna Arias Rubio.

Rubio falls between two generations of flamencos. The older generation tended to apprentice with a single master and had a broader knowledge of regional flamenco styles in Spain, while their playing style was not flashy. The younger players, says Rubio, are technical virtuosi, sometimes incorporate influences from jazz and blues, frequently learn to read music, and may specialize in just one aspect of flamenco playing: solo performance, accompanying singers, or accompanying dancers. Yet, except for the genuine young masters such as Domingo Ortega (Rubio’s friend and colleague), their repertoire is more generic and limited. Rubio is engaged in an ongoing process of understanding and performing his art. While he says the flamenco life is not possible in the same way in Philadelphia as it was in Spain, he remains dedicated to sharing the beauty of the art with all.

Tito was awarded an Artistic Fellowship for Folk and Traditional Arts by the PA Council for the Arts for 2004, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for 2004. Tito was Musician-in-residence at the Philadelphia Folklore Project for 2003-2004. Tito teaches flamenco guitar privately and is also co-musical director, with Roger Mgrdichian of Herencia Arabe and the artisitic director of Flamenco del Encuentro.

Tito providing the guitarra for Anna's flamenco workshop.

Tito (background) performing at the 2004 Feria de Sevilla in Philadelphia.

Tito with Antonia.