Now, when the song “Nuevayol” is released during Bad Bunny’s world tour, the giant screens will surely pay homage to him. Rafael Ithierfounder of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and one of the great legends of salsa, … died this Saturday, December 7 at the age of 99.
The Ithier family’s lawyer, Victor Rivera, confirmed the musician’s death on WKAQ radio on Saturday evening. He did not specify the causes of death, but the local press reports that the artist had experienced episodes of respiratory distress.
Bad Bunny hit samples song “A Summer in New York” (composed by Justin Barreto), today the best known of a group, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, considered the best orchestra of its kind.
Ithier was born in San Juan in the summer of 1926 and grew up in the working-class community of Río Piedras. He lost his father when he was eight years old.but he took refuge in music and learned to play the guitar at ten years old.
At fourteen he left school and after trying a few jobs where he could, he joined his first musical group, Conjunto Hawaiio, and learned to play the Cuban tres and the double bass. Later He taught himself to play the pianoand would become a great arranger, composer, music producer and orchestra director.
At the age of twenty, he joined the United States Army and was stationed in Korea, then went to New York and formed the group The Borinqueneers Mambo Kings, then returned to Puerto Rico. There he joined Cortijo y Su Combo, which lasted until singer Ismael Rivera was arrested for drug possession.
Ithier has released more than forty albums and played on five continents for more than half a century.
Ithier then founded, with two Cuban brothers, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which began in May 1962 at the Rock’n Roll Club in Bayamón and operated for more than half a century, playing on five continents and publishing more than 40 albums with hits like “Jala Jala”, “Me Liberé”, “Y No Hago Más Ná” or the aforementioned “A Summer in New York.”
The Great Combo attracted so many musicians that It came to be known as “Salsa University.”where singers like Charlie Aponte were trained, who said goodbye to his teacher on social networks with this message: “For me Rafa was and will continue to be like a father, he taught us and demanded responsibility, discipline and professionalism in our work, if you wanted to belong to the group you had to conform to it. “It made us better human beings.”
Salsa icons, in mourning
“Puerto Rico loses a giant, a man whose life was dedicated to elevating our identity through art and the rhythm that sets us apart before the world. Rafael Ithier Natal was not only founder and musical director of one of our cultural pillarsthe Grand Combo of Puerto Rico, but also an example of discipline, excellence and deep love for our land,” said Marlese Sifre, Mayor of Ponce.
“Ithier is one of those immortals who covered our country with glory. An exemplary man, self-taught, with a strong and frank personality, who gave his popular style to all his struggles, deeds and exploits,” he said. Agustín Montañez Allman, Secretary of the Government of Puerto Rico for Veterans Affairs.
Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer Colón also lamented Ithier’s death, announcing that the island will soon have a official date of mourning. “His legacy transcends borders and endures for generations. Thank you very much, professor,” he said in a statement. Ithier leaves behind a wife and five children.
The salsa singer Victor Manuelle described the pianist as one of the “most important pillars in the history of the genre”: “Don Rafael Ithier is not only the founder, director, arranger and pianist of the most important salsa orchestra in the world, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, but he is also the most visionary, businessman and most effective businessman that has existed and will exist in the history of salsa.
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