Hector & Tito

• Genre: Reggaeton

About

Also known as "Los Bambinos," Héctor Delgado Román and Efraín "Tito" Fines Nevárez were born in Carolina, Puerto Rico just as New Wave was starting to inspire angular hairstyles in the U.S. As kids, the duo studied dance and singing, while Tito polished his chops with bands including the Noise and the Point Breakers. He and Hector joined the band Parque Ecuestre in 1997, but a year later the "bambinos" broke off from the group and released their first album as a duo, Violencia Musical. Over the next few years they worked with other stars of the up-and-coming reggaeton scene, including Baby Rasta and Gringo and Lito y Polaco, and benefited from the production skills of deejays including Goldy, Blass, Playero, Luny Tunes and Eliel. In 2002 their fame spread beyond Puerto Rico with the release of A La Reconquista, and by the time they reached their mid-20s, they had assumed their rightful places in the emerging reggaeton pantheon.

- Sarah Bardeen