US EditionPuerto Rico Salsa Giant Rafael Ithier, Who Led El Gran Combo for More than Half a Century, Dies
Rafael Ithier led El Gran Combo for over 60 years, creating more than 40 albums and shaping salsa music recognized on five continents, with 41 Billboard Tropical Airplay hits.
- Rafael Ithier Natal was the founder, musical director, and pianist of the renowned salsa orchestra El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, leading it for over 50 years.
- Born in San Juan and raised in Río Piedras, Ithier learned music from a young age, joining his first group at 15 and later serving in the U.S. Army.
- Ithier attributed El Gran Combo's success to the discipline he learned in the Army, saying 'I learned to be a man and to obey an order. That discipline is what I apply to my life.
80 Articles
80 Articles
Here Are El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico’s Biggest Hits on the Billboard Charts
The founder of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Rafael Ithier, has died, but the legacy of the salsa orchestra as one of the most recognized in Latin America will live on through dozens of hits — from 1975’s “Un Verano en Nueva York,” which has found new life through Bad Bunny, to “Me Liberé” and “Se Nos Perdió el Amor.” Founded in 1962 by Ithier, who was for many years the pianist and musical director of the orchestra, El Gran Combo de Puerto Ri…
From now on, when the song 'Newyol' sounds on Bad Bunny's world tour, giant screens are sure to pay tribute to Rafael Ithier, founder of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and one of the great salsa legends, who passed away this Saturday December 7th at the age of 99. A lawyer from the Ithier family, Victor Rivera, confirmed the musician's death to the WKAQ radio station on Saturday night. He did not clarify the causes of the death, but the local pres…
Rafael Ithier was a “master and patriarch” for El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, a group he founded carrying the flavor of the bomb and sauce across the five continents.
Los Angeles Times
Independent EspañolThe founder of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico has ceased to exist
San Juan, Puerto Rico.- Rafael Ithier, a beloved musician and founder of the legendary salsa band El Gran Combo of Puerto Rico, whose successes have inspired Bad Bunny and other icons of the territory, died at the age of 99. A lawyer of the Ithier family, Victor Rivera, confirmed the death of the musician to the radio station WKAQ on Saturday night. The cause of death was not immediately elucidated. "Puerto Rico has lost a giant, a man whose lif…
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