El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico is the most popular salsa band of all time. Formed from Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera’s old band, they have a distinctly Puerto Rican sound.
Rafael Ithier
The band’s founder Rafael Ithier died naturally at home at 99 years old on December 6, 2025 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was from Rio Piedras where many great Puerto Rican musicians are from. He knew Rafael Cortijo as a young man and joined Cortijo y su Combo in the 1950s. That put him with another of Cortijo’s childhood friends, Ismael Rivera. These guys grew up surrounded by bomba and plena. Together they mixed bomba and plena, into son Cubano to create what today we call salsa. You can hear the bomba sicá rhythm in la salsa. It makes you want to dance.
When Rivera got in trouble in Panama, the band shut down. Ithier formed El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico from the remnants of the band. That’s how the most popular salsa band ever, got started. Many people contributed to the development of la salsa, but it might not be what it is today without Rafael Ithier.
[Kíko Keith ~ Rafael, I’m going to think of you every time I eat arroz con habichuelas, gandules too.]
Esto no es balada, esto no es rock
Arroz con habichuela (Juan Hernandez / El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico)
Esto es salsa, son y rumba
Esto no es ensaladita light
Arroz con habichuela y vianda es lo que hay
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico in New York City
NOVEMBER
Prudential Center
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Grupo Niche play a “Salsa Pal’ Mundo” Tour, a double-header of some of the world’s best salsa; at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey; on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 8pm. From $87. 🇵🇷 🇨🇴
Newark, New Jersey
The Colombian Independence Festival at Prudential Center features Grupo Niche, El Gran Combo, La India, Jesse Uribe, Paola Jara, Francy, and Alex Sensation for a night of salsa and regional Mexican in Newark, New Jersey; on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at 8pm. From $47. 🇨🇴
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
The 38th New York Salsa Festival 2024 features Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Oscar D’León, Grupo Niche, Tito Nieves, Jose Alberto “El Canario,” Brenda K. Starr, Raulin Rosendo, and Mickey Taveras backed by the incredible Bobby Allende y Ocho y Más Band; at Barclays Center in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; on Saturday, June 8, 2024. From $120. 🇨🇴 🇩🇴 🇵🇷 🇻🇪
Midtown, Manhattan
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Rey Ruíz and Wilfrido Vargas, play Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican salsa; at Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center; on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 8pm. From $129. 🇵🇷 🇨🇺 🇩🇴
New York Venues
- Barclays Center in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
- Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Flushing, Queens
- New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey
- Radio City Music Hall in Midtown, Manhattan
- Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
- Salsa Sundays at Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico is Puerto Rico’s most successful musical group. In fact, it’s “the most popular salsa group that has ever existed.”
Rafael Ithier formed the band out of (Rafael) Cortijo’s Combo when lead singer Ismael Rivera left in 1962. Cortijo and Rivera were the musicians who put the bomba sicá and plena rhythms into salsa music. Ithier is still honorary music director.
El Gran Combo is definitive of the island Puerto Rican sound. The clave is less pronounced. There is more cow bell, and a lusher percussion with more güiro. It sounds to us like mornings in Puerto Rico.
The Most Popular Salsa Band Ever
So many great artists have been part of the band over the years that people call it “La Universidad de la Salsa” (The Salsa University). That includes Ismael Rivera, Roberto Roena, Andy Montañez, Charlie Aponte, Jerry Rivas, and many more.
El Gran Combo’s first album was “Menéame los mangos” (Shake My Mango, 1963). Their third album “Acángana” (1964) opened doors for the band when it went No. 1 in New York, Puerto Rico, and Panama. The band had their own television show in Puerto Rico “El Show de las 12.”
The band opened the legendary FANIA All-Stars Yankee Stadium concert in 1973.
Caribbean culture has a tradition of naughty lyrics expressed in a soft, almost quaint way. Gran Combo’s lyrics are clean, but filled with double meaning. Food has lots of extra symbolism. For example, “Azuquita Pa’l Cafe” describes something more explicit than a little milk for coffee. LOL.
El Gran Combo is still going strong. For New York there is nothing like la Salsa de Puerto Rico.
We saw El Gran Combo at Club Vivo in Carolina, San Juan, Puerto Rico. We couldn’t stop dancing.
More Information
elgrancombodepuertorico.com
Facebook @grancombo1
Instagram @elgrancombodepuertorico