Rafael Ithier Natal (born August 29, 1926) is a Puerto Rican

salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on son montun ...

ian and the founder of the highly successful orchestra

El Gran Combo El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

. Ithier was born in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

, now a part of the municipality of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. In 2016, Ithier celebrated his 90th birthday and was interviewed by a news outlet in Puerto Rico about his contributions to Puerto Rican music.

Early years

Raised in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal div ...

, he showed a passion for music at a very young age. His father was Nicolas Ithier and his mother Mérida Natal. His uncle, Salvador Ithier, played music together with Rafael Hernández, another of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

's music legends. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. While stationed in Korea he formed a music group entitled the ''Los Borinquena Mambo Boys.''

Musical career

Ithier Nadal became an expert guitarist in the

bolero 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 ...

genre, and he was a member of the

Tito Henriquez Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

group, ''Taone.'' His sister Esperanza later inspired him to learn how to play the piano. Ithier Nadal and his namesake,

Rafael Cortijo Rafael Antonio Cortijo (December 11, 1928 – October 3, 1982) was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, composer and percussion instrument craftsman. Early Career As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and enjoyed th ...

, knew each other and formed a friendship at an early age; rumors of animosity would later surface but they both denied it, saying they considered themselves to be "like brothers." Ithier Nadal joined Cortijo's orchestra, "Cortijo y su Combo", during the 1950s. Before that, he was in a New York group named the "Borinqueneers

Mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music *Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particular ...

Boys." In 1977 Ithier Nadal worked as a music arranger on the debut album for the Puerto Rican ensemble band "

Puerto Rico All Stars The Puerto Rico All Stars were a salsa and Latin Jazz band founded in 1977 by Frankie Gregory. Based in Puerto Rico, the All-Stars were an alternative and rival to the Fania All-Stars created by Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 ...

El Gran Combo

In 1962, Ithier Nadal formed "El Gran Combo", becoming the orchestra's leader. As of 2012, he was still the orchestra leader and continued to tour with the group. On his 90th birthday he was interviewed and stated that was successful because of their great discipline.

Early years

Musical career

El Gran Combo

References

Notes

See also