Pirulo y la Tribu

Pirulo y La Tribu function as a contemporary salsa and timba ensemble that fuses longstanding stylistic approaches with updated studio techniques, drawing together Nuyorican salsa, Afro-Cuban son, and Puerto Rican bomba. Francisco "Pirulo" Rosada Rosario entered the world in 1977 inside San Juan’s San Jose Reservoir barrio. His mother came from Puerto Rico while his father, Frankie Rosado, arrived from Brooklyn and performed on flute throughout the 1970s salsa peak in New York. From childhood, the younger Rosario absorbed the sounds of Dave Valentin, Ismael Rivera, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Irakere, Los Van Van, and Cortijo.

He enrolled at ten in San Juan’s Free School of Music, where oboe and bass appeared on the curriculum, though percussion remained his central pursuit. During high school he assembled his debut group, Revolucion Latina. After finishing school in 1995 at age seventeen, he moved directly into professional work, refining his percussion skills with Giovanni Hidalgo, Anthony Carrillo, Pupi Santiago, Edgar Abraham, Alfredo y Rumberos, and additional artists.

Both parents died while he was still a teenager, leaving Rosario, as the eldest male, responsible for his siblings; nevertheless he maintained his musical trajectory and intensified his efforts. Those efforts secured him a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, which he attended in 1997 and 1998.

Once his studies concluded, he operated as a traveling session musician and road player, covering the U.S., Canada, and Cuba while supporting Bob Dylan, Maceo Parker, Either/Orchestra, and Entrain y Family Ayala Folkloric Group.

Rosario resettled in Puerto Rico in 2004 as an experienced performer, songwriter, and percussionist. He obtained a session agreement with White Lion Records in San Juan that encompassed playing, producing, writing, and singing. He contributed to Julio Volto’s En La Clara, produced Tego Calderón’s Latin Grammy-nomination El Abayarde Contrataca, and appeared on recordings by Noriega and Vico C. He remained Calderon’s studio and live drummer until 2012.

Beginning in 2006 he produced and served as musical director for multiple large-scale tribute concerts, among them events devoted to Chocolate Armenteros in San Juan and to Ricky Martin at the Latin Grammys. In 2008 he produced and directed the innovative Mas Salsa Thou, an album that merged classic salsa performed by Hidalgo, Valentin, and Pappo Luca with urban and hip-hop elements.

During his association with Calderon, Rosario launched La Tribu and other groups that explored hip-hop, Criolla, and world fusion. La Tribu became the first to document its work, releasing Calle Linda in mid-2013 after the lead single “Esa Es La Que Me Gusta.” The follow-up single “Loco Pero Feliz” reached the Billboard Latin songs chart in 2014. The album later climbed to number five on Top Latin Albums and registered solid placement on Tropical Albums. Its successor, Calle Linda 2, appeared in early summer 2017, entered Top Latin Albums within a week, and attained the Top 10 inside three weeks; its single “De Mi Que Hablen” debuted at number five on the Tropical Songs chart.