Rafael Ithier
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Rafael Ithier (born 1926), is a Salsa musician and the founder of the highly successful orchestra "El Gran Combo." Ithier was born in Río Piedras, now a part of greater San Juan.
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[edit] Early years
Ithier born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, showed a passion for music when he was very young. His father, Nicolas Ithier, played music together with Rafael Hernandez Marin, another of Puerto Rico's music legends.
[edit] Musical career
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 1977 Ithier worked as a music arranger on the debut album for the Puerto Rican ensemble band "Puerto Rico All Stars".
[edit] El Gran Combo
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 Américas 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, which saved all their lives.[citation needed]
