Traditional Artist – Recording Artist –
Percussionist – Band Leader
Maurice “Tito” Sanabria is a second-generation Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena practitioner, recording artist, percussionist, educator, and band leader born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. His work centers on preserving, performing, recording, and sharing Afro-Puerto Rican musical traditions in Virginia and throughout the Mid-Atlantic. A professional traditional artist since 2018, Tito is a member and executive producer with Kadencia Orchestra. He contributed percussion and vocals to the band’s award-winning album En Otro Barrio, which was featured in the Apple TV+ series Swagger. As a recording artist, Tito has also been featured as lead vocalist on Kadencia’s 2025 single “Como Llama,” with additional original recordings planned for release.
Tito has performed Bomba and Plena at major venues and cultural institutions across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Richmond Folk Festival, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He is equally committed to education and cultural preservation, leading workshops and demonstrations at schools, universities, and arts organizations throughout Virginia.
In 2023, Tito received a Virginia Folklife Program Apprenticeship to study Mayagüez-style Plena with Master Practitioner Kily Vializ. The apprenticeship deepened his commitment to preserving and promoting the musical traditions of his hometown and to sharing them with audiences and practitioners in the United States. His work was subsequently featured at the 2024 Richmond Folk Festival as part of the Virginia Folklife Area and Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage.
Tito has also developed a strong relationship with the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA). He helped Kadencia Orchestra achieve inclusion in the VCA Performing Arts Touring Directory and has served twice on the Touring Directory panel. Through this work, he has contributed both as an artist and as an advocate for expanding access to traditional and culturally diverse performing arts throughout Virginia.
In November 2025, Tito founded La Práctica – An Afro-Puerto Rican Music Community of Practice, offering free Bomba and Plena workshops throughout the Greater Richmond area. La Práctica provides an inclusive space where community members of all backgrounds can learn about Afro-Puerto Rican music, history, and traditional percussion while building community through shared practice.
In 2026, Tito was selected for both the Walking Together grant from Mid Atlantic Arts and the CultureWorks Arts & Culture Community Impact Grant 2026–27. These awards support the expansion of La Práctica through workshops, regular practice spaces, guest practitioners, recordings, and the purchase of instruments that reduce barriers to participation and increase community access to Bomba and Plena.
Tito and Kadencia also maintain a relationship with the Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education in Chesterfield, Virginia, where Kadencia became a resident artist. This partnership provides opportunities for performance, education, and community engagement while strengthening the presence of Afro-Puerto Rican music within the region’s arts ecosystem.
Through his work as a recording artist, performer, educator, and community leader, Tito Sanabria is helping ensure that Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena remain living, accessible, and evolving traditions for new generations in Virginia and beyond.
