Ismael Miranda, also known as ''El Niño Bonito de la Salsa'' ("The Pretty Boy of Salsa") (born February 20, 1950) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.

Early years

Miranda (birth name: Ismael Miranda Carrero ) was born in

Aguada, Puerto Rico Aguada (; , ), originally San Francisco de Asís de la Aguada, is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the western coastal valley region bordering the Atlantic Ocean, east of Rincón, west of Aguadilla and Moca; and north of Añ ...

and grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on East 13th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's East Village. He wanted to become a musician as a child. His musical inclination led him to form two different juvenile groups, "The 4J's and Little Junior" and "The Class Mates" by the time he was eleven years old. He sang and played

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

for the group and they appeared on

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

's Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Miranda also grew up and played in his first bands with Jazz percussionist

Orlando "Q" Rodriguez Orlando "Q" Rodriguez (born September 13, 1947) is an American rock and jazz percussionist based in New York City. He appeared on the album ''Live at the House of Tribes'' by Wynton Marsalis in 2005. He began his career as a teenager during the ...

and piano player Mark Dimond.Popular Culture
/ref>

First recording

In 1967, when Miranda was 17 years old, he made his recording debut with the song "''Let's Ball''" with Joey Pastrana and had his first "hit" with "''Rumbón Melón''". He was hired as

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

Larry Harlow's lead singer. That same year Miranda and Harlow co-authored "''El Exigente''" ("The Demanding One"), set to the rhythm of

Latin Boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

The Fania All Stars

In 1969, Miranda joined the Fania All Stars and went with the band on tour to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

. In 1973, he formed his own band called "Orquesta Revelación" and recorded "''Así se compone un son''" under the Fania record label. He was then baptized as "El Niño Bonito de la Salsa" ('The Pretty Boy of Salsa"). During the 1970s, he continued to have more songs like "''Lupe, Lupe''", "''Señor Sereno''". In 1984, Miranda recorded an album for Fania with the Cuban conjunto

Sonora Matancera La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...

. By 1988, he had planned to retire. However, he went on to establish his own record label "IM Records" and recorded several

boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

with

Andy Montañez Andrés Montañez Rodríguez (born May 7, 1942), better known as Andy Montañez, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Early life Montañez is a native of the ''Tras Talleres'' area of Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is known by the nic ...

. By 1992, he signed under the management of

Chino Rodríguez Chino Rodriguez (b February 2, 1954 - d November 5, 2022) is an American musician and impresario specializing in Latin music, salsa and Latin jazz. Biography Chino was born James Mui in New York City on February 2, 1954, in the Little Italy/Ch ...

in New York City, who negotiated with the late

Jerry Masucci Gerald "Jerry" Masucci (October 7, 1934 – December 21, 1997) was an American attorney, businessman and was co-founder of Fania Records. Biography Masucci was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian immigrant parents Urbano and Elvira Masucci. He w ...

on the Fania All-Star Reunion of 1994.

Later years

The 2002 recording of one of Miranda's concerts received the recognition and acclaim of the National Foundation of Popular Culture of Puerto Rico. He also recorded a CD which contained songs composed by

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

composer José Alfredo Jiménez in the salsa version. On September 27, 2003, Ismael Miranda performed at the Copacabana nightclub in

. He currently continues to perform and is now on a national tour. During January 23, 2021, Miranda was hospitalized in a Caguas hospital in Puerto Rico, after complaining of severe dizziness.

Discography

With Joey Pastrana & His Orchestra * Let's Ball (Cotique), 1967 With

Larry Harlow (musician) Larry Harlow Kahn (born Lawrence Ira Kahn; March 20, 1939 – August 20, 2021) was an American salsa music performer, composer, and producer. He was born into a musical American family of Jewish descent. Background Summary Harlow was born o ...

/ Orchestra Harlow * El Exigente (

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his Brooklyn-born Italian-American ex-New York City Police Officer turned lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964. The label took its nam ...

), 1967 * Presenta A Ismael Miranda (

), 1968 * Me & My Monkey (

), 1969 * Electric Harlow (

), 1970 * Abran Paso! (

), 1971 * Oportunidad (

), 1972 * Tribute To Arsenio Rodríguez (

), 1972 * Con Mi Viejo Amigo (With My Old Friend) (

), 1976 * The Best of Orchestra Harlow & Ismael Miranda (

), 1976 With (

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist and also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in the politics of New York City. Colón ...

) * Doble Energía (

) 1980 With (

) * La Sonora y el Niño (

) 1984 With His Orchestra * Así Se Compone Un Son (1973) * En Fa Menor (1974) * Este es... Ismael Miranda (1975) * No Voy al Festival (1977) * Sabor, Sentimiento, y Pueblo (1978) * La Clave del Sabor (1981) * The Master (1983) * Una Nueva Visión (1985) * Por el Buen Camino (1987) * Motivos de Mi Tierra (1987) * Felicitándote (1988) * La Mano Maestra (1989) * Hasta la Última Gota (1991) * Entre Sombras (1992) * Enamorado de Ti (1993) * El Sabor de Puerto Rico (1994) * Cantar o No Cantar with Junior Gonzalez (1995) * Al Son del Bolero with ( Andy Montanez) (1996) * Con Buena Nota (1997) * Románticos de Nuevo with ( Andy Montanez) (1997) * Con Alma de Niño (1998) * Son de Vieques (1999) * Vengo Con Todo (2001) * Tequila y Ron (2003) * Edición Especial (2005) * Con Sabor y Sentimiento (2007) * Buscando el Camino (2008) * De Regreso al Son (2009) * Aferrado a Ti (2011) * Son 45 (2014) Compilaciones * El Compositor Que Canta (1978) * Éxitos de los 50 Vol. 1 (1982) * Éxitos de los 50 Vol. 2 (1985) * (

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, a ...

) With Ismael Miranda (2000) * The Best (2001) * Live From (

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

) (2001) * 27 Años de Trayectoria (2002) * Pura Salsa (2006) * Pura Salsa Live (2007) * Romántico (2009) * Greatest Hits (2009) * Historia de la Salsa (2010) * La Herencia (2012)

Note

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miranda, Ismael 1950 births Living people People from Aguada, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Puerto Rican male composers Salsa musicians Fania Records artists