Pianist, arranger, composer, music producer, and bandleader Rafael Ithier Natal (1926-2025) passed away on December 6 (may he rest in peace). Univisión and AP recently shared details about Ithier’s professional life. Here are translated excerpts from “Muere el legendario Rafael Ithier a los 99 años: pilar de la salsa boricua y fundador de El Gran Combo” [Legendary Rafael Ithier dies at 99: pillar of Puerto Rican salsa and founder of El Gran Combo].
The world of salsa mourns the passing of Rafael Ithier Natal, the undisputed maestro behind El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, who died at the age of 99, silencing the piano that defined an era. […] An attorney for the Ithier family, Víctor Rivera, confirmed the musician’s death to radio station WKAQ on Saturday night, December 6. [. . .]
Marlese Sifre, mayor of Ponce, declared, “Puerto Rico has lost a giant, a man whose life was dedicated to elevating our identity through the art and rhythm that distinguishes us [and sharing it with] the world. Rafael Ithier Natal was not only the founder and musical director of one of our cultural pillars, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, but he was also an example of discipline, excellence, and a deep love for our land.”
Ithier was a self-taught pianist, arranger, composer, music producer, and bandleader of what many consider the best salsa orchestra in the world.
Born in San Juan and raised in the working-class community of Río Piedras, Ithier lost his father at the age of eight. He embraced music at a young age, learning to play guitar at ten, which he played at a corner store for tips, according to the National Foundation for Popular Culture, a local nonprofit organization.
At fourteen, he dropped out of school for financial reasons and took any jobs he could find. A year later, he joined his first band, Conjunto Hawaiano, and learned how to play the Cuban tres and the double bass. He later learned to play the piano and taught himself to read sheet music.
In his mid-twenties, Ithier joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to Korea. Later, he traveled to New York and formed The Borinqueneers Mambo Kings, named after the 65th Puerto Rican Infantry Regiment, the renowned all-Hispanic, segregated Army unit that received medals for its service in World Wars I and II and the Korean War.
Ithier had planned to study law but was persuaded otherwise by two Cuban “brothers” who helped found El Gran Combo. On the group’s opening night in May 1962 at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Club in Bayamón, Ithier sat down at the piano, and the rest is history, according to the National Endowment for Popular Culture. [. . .]
Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For full article, photos, and a video, see https://www.univision.com/famosos/muere-rafael-ithier-el-gran-combo-de-puerto-rico
Pianist, arranger, composer, music producer, and bandleader Rafael Ithier Natal (1926-2025) passed away on December 6 (may he rest in peace). Univisión and AP recently shared details about Ithier’s professional life. Here are translated excerpts from “Muere el legendario Rafael Ithier a los 99 años: pilar de la salsa boricua y fundador de El Gran
