2017 Inductee: Fito Blanko

Written by John Stewart

Fito Blanko was about to go on stage with Elvis Crespo to sing before 20,000 people at American Airlines Arena in Miami and 5 million more watching the Spanish People’s Choice Awards on television.

Pacing back and forth, he spotted superstar guitarist Alejandro Sanz, who’d won many Grammies, warming up. “Señor Sanz, you have no idea who I am. I’m a little nervous – any advice you can give me?” “You’re performing right?” replied Sanz. “You’re here for a reason. You’re a professional – now go out and do what you love to do.”

Fito says it was the most inspiring thing anyone’s ever said to him.

“This guy who recorded with Beyoncé and is one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time just called me a pro. Why am I questioning myself? Whether you’re performing for 10 people or 10,000, the energy remains the same.”

It’s the energy to perform that has always driven Fito, who remembers performing in Panama before his family moved to Canada when he was five. Music is in his DNA. His heroes remain the many Panamanian legends whose names are not well known outside their own country. In high school at John Cabot, Fito used the record collection he’d carefully curated to create a DJ experience no one else could offer.

“All the signs for music to be part of me happened early in my life,” he says.

Like freestyling at the Square One transit terminal with friends and having Brampton musician LaSol cruise by and hear him. Or being at the 21 Tavern in Panama City and spotting Grammy-award winning singer Emilio Estevan and getting his phone number after an impromptu audition. Or travelling to Miami with close collaborator Sensei Musica during Grammy week and connecting with Estevan and record company executives there, even though he was too young to legally attend the parties he talked himself into.

“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Fito says. “God puts you in certain situations that leads your path and will open doors for you.”

His “under the radar” Mississauga springboard opened doors for Fito that have led to singles on numerous Latin charts, collaborations with Drake, Crespo, Cardinal Offishall and Pitbull , an appointment as youth ambassador for the 2015 Pan American Games and a song in the Furious 7 film and soundtrack.

His music is played in clubs around the world. Fito now co-owns and leads his own music company. It’s a cliché but it’s true – music is the international language of communication.

There were few role models in Canada for Fito growing up but he is showing others how a Latin kid who grew up in the GTA can have an international impact in a genre many Canadians don’t know well enough.

“It’s like a dream come true but I had to figure a lot of it out on my own,” Fito says. It all started with the will to get up and do what he loves to do. “I make music for people to enjoy themselves. I want to provoke some sort of motion and vibration through sound.”

His good vibrations have earned Fito Blanko a home on Mississauga’s Music Walk of Fame.