Ángel Peña (musician)
| Ángel Peña | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | "Cucco" |
| Born | September 1, 1948 |
| Origin | Santurce, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | Salsa |
| Occupation(s) | composer, musician, singer, and record producer. |
Ángel "Cucco" Peña (born September 1, 1948) is a composer, musician, singer, and record producer.
Early years
Born in Santurce, a district in the Puerto Rican capital San Juan, Peña and his two siblings became interested in music at an early age. After completing their primary and secondary education, the Peña brothers attended the Music Conservatory of Puerto Rico. Following his graduation, Peña joined the Panamericana Orchestra, which played various musical styles such as bolero, blues, jazz, rock, pop and salsa.[1]
Musical career
 You may listen to Peña's "Bomba E" interpreted by the "Coro Universitario de Mendoza" on YouTube. |
After Peña left the band in 1980, he became a music director, producer, composer and arranger for a wide variety of singers and styles, such as Willie Colón, Olga Tañon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Lissette, Ricardo Arjona, Luis Fonsi, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, Franco de Vita, Willy Chirino, Juan Diego Florez, Marc Anthony, Lucecita Benítez, Glenn Monroig, Ilan Chester, Gloria Estefan, Jerry Rivera and Lunna. Peña believes that music can be seen from three perspectives: that of the artist, the music company; and his own. He works with all three to produce the music he believes people want to hear.[2]
First digitally produced Puerto Rican album
Peña produced Motivos ('Motives'), the first digitally produced Puerto Rican album with the participation of Glenn Monroig and Lunna. In 1983, he married Lunna and had three children, Gabriel, Juan and Ángel. They later divorced and tragedy struck when their son died. In addition to music, Peña now also produces television commercials.[1]
Awards and recognition
- Grammy for best tropical album, Contra la corriente, Marc Anthony (1999).
- Latin Grammy for best tropical production, Olga Tañon (2002)
- 60 Cuspide Awards
- 40 Addy Awards
- 20 Awards from the New York Theater Festival
- Agüeybaná de Oro Award (1993) for "Director of the Year"