Rafael Ithier
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Rafael Ithier (born 1926 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Salsa musician and the founder of the highly successful orchestra "El Gran Combo." Ithier was born in Rio Piedras, now a part of greater San Juan.
Ithier showed a passion for music when he was very young. His father, Nicolas Ithier, played music together with Rafael Hernandez, another of Puerto Rico's music legends.
Rafael Ithier became an expert guitarist in the bolero genre, and he was a member of the Tito Henriquez group, Taone. His sister Esperanza later inspired him to learn how to play the piano.
Ithier and his namesake, Rafael Cortijo, 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, who is a prominent Black Puerto Rican, joined Cortijo's orchestra, "El Combo," during the 1950s. Before that, he was in a New York group named the "Borinqueneers Mambo Boys."
In 1962, Ithier formed "El Gran Combo," becoming the orchestra's leader. He has held that position for over forty years, and he continues to tour with the group, as of 2004.
In 1970, Ithier and the members of "El Gran Combo" shared a near death experience. They were stranded at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo when they failed to board the Dominicana Airlines DC-9 that crashed in the Caribbean. One of the members of the group had a bad feeling about boarding the flight. This saved all their lives.
