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, producing 40+ albums and shaping salsa music globally as a symbol of Puerto Rican identity, officials said.
- 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.
70 Articles
70 Articles
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…
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...
Associated Press News
Puerto Rico salsa giant Rafael Ithier, who led El Gran Combo for more than half a century, dies
Rafael Ithier, a beloved musician and a founder of the legendary salsa band El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, whose hits have inspired Bad Bunny and other icons, has died.
By CNN en Español Puerto Rican musician Rafael Ithier, one of the founders of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, died at the age of 99, as confirmed this Sunday by the legendary salsa band in a social media post. “With deep regret we confirmed the death of our founder, master and musical patriarch, Don Rafael Ithier Natal,” they said in a statement. “Today we fired not only a great musician, but the architect of a sound that marked generations, a lea…
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