El Gran Combo originated as an offshoot of the popular Puerto Rican band El Combo de Rafael Cortijo. Invited to start a new group with Joseito Mateo, a singer from the Dominican Republic, Ithier and six fellow musicians dropped out of Cortijo's band to start their new enterprise. The move shocked the Latin music world. "You were not supposed to leave Puerto Rico's favorite group like that," Ithier told Montreal's Gazette, "but the discipline was not very good anymore…. I did not want to be with a band that was not ready to work."
The new band was not lacking in discipline. Its members—including Rafael Alvarez Guedes (who chose the band's name), Eddie Pérez, Héctor Santos, Roberto Rohena, Rogelio Vélez, Martín Quiñones, and Miguel Cruz —prized teamwork and organization as much as they did musical talent. In 1962 the group recorded its first album, Meneame los Mangos (Shake My Mangos). The album was not a hit and the band was not an overnight sensation, but El Gran Combo were willing to work for their success.
It was three or four years before El Gran Combo reached that success, which arrived not long after the group recruited a promising young singer named Junior Montañhez (later known as Andy Montañez). With Montañez joining singer Pellin Rodriguez on vocals, the band turned out hit after hit—catchy dance tunes with such names as "El Menu," "Telefono," and "Goyito Sabater." The songwriting talent behind these and other hits was Perin Vazquez, whose lyrics told tales of everyday passions and universal longings. Working closely with Vazquez, Ithier created lively arrangements for piano, bass, trumpets, saxophone, congas, timbales, and bongos.
The group had released the album Acangana in 1963, just two days before the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Although distribution of the album was postponed because of the tragedy, the recording eventually reached gold-record status. In 1970 the band created EGC, an independent record label under which they released a number of albums, beginning with that year's recording, El Momo de Oro.
El Gran Combo gradually rose to become the first name in salsa within Puerto Rico, winning the island's prestigious Agueybana de Oro prize for the Best Band of 1969. Slowly, word about the band began to spread beyond the island's borders, and from 1971 to 1986 the band's international popularity was at its peak. During this time, El Gran Combo attracted a series of gifted young salsa performers—including singers Charlie Aponte, Johnny Ventura, Celia Cruz, and Jerry Rivas, and musicians Miguel Marrero, Milton Correa, Edwin Cortes, and Martin Quinones. In fact, so many exceptional salsa performers "graduated" from El Gran Combo that the band became affectionately known as the University of Salsa.
For many fans, El Gran Combo is synonymous with salsa—a musical genre that fuses Cuban and Puerto Rican sounds. Headed by three lead singers, El Gran Combo has always drawn dynamic energy from vocals. True to the salsa style, the group balances a vibrant horn section and a rhythmic percussion beat, tempered by the less-prominent bass and piano. One secret to El Gran Combo's long-lived success has been the group's ability to keep its music evolving and to remain open to new, fresh sounds. In 1971 the band added a trombone to its repertoire, played by Epifanio (Fanny) Ceballo. The recording De Punta a Punta, which won best album at Miami's Gold Record Festival, marked the debut of Ceballo, who remained with the band until his death in 1991.
More changes came for El Gran Combo in the mid-1970s, when Pellin Rodriguez left the band and was eventually replaced by the popular vocalist Charlie Aponte. By 1977 the vocalist Montañez also departed, joining the Venezuelan group La Dimensión Latina. Montañez's departure shocked and saddened fans, but his replacement, Jerry Rivas, soon won over audiences.
In 1984 El Gran Combo toured Alaska, where they produced Breaking the Ice—El Gran Combo en Alaska, which received a Grammy Award nomination. The band toured internationally throughout the 1980s and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1987 with a historic concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Although many music critics thought El Gran Combo was past its peak by the 1990s, the band held on to its core group of devoted fans. "When they had singer Andy Montañez, they used to be the music machine of the Caribbean," Rudolph Mangual, publisher of the Los Angeles dance-music magazine Latin Beat, told the Los Angeles Times in 1996. "Obviously, they're way past their prime, but they're so good that they still matter…. [T]heir collective presence has a unique magnetism."
Although the band is an ensemble, one key figure stands out in El Gran Combo: Ithier, who has either outlasted or outlived the band's other cofounders. Many fans regard him as the group's heart and soul, yet Ithier has always emphasized the band's lack of hierarchy. "[El Gran Combo] has persevered because of its system," Ithier told Billboard magazine. "We share everything: our successes, our failures, our earnings. Everything is evenly distributed. And this is an incentive for the band. Everything we make, we divide."
Cheque Falso
El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le di mi corazón, le di mi alma
Inspirado en su amor le escribí versos
Fui un trovador hambriento de sus besos
Como la quise tanto y no lo niego
Yo construí un castillo a su reino
A donde no faltaba ni un detalle
(En cambio usted)
Me dio tanta amargura
En cambio usted tan sólo me dio desventura
(En cambio usted)
Me quiso tanto y tanto
Que el pago de su amor fue un cheque falso
Mientras usted de mí se aprovechaba
Yo sin saber sólo quería adorarla
Porque el que sabe amar ama de veras
Y vive su ilusión insospechada
Yo la veía reír, me equivocaba
Era una escena la que preparaba
Y a cada paso cruel de su novela
Inocente mi alma yo le daba
(En cambio usted)
Me dio tanta amargura
En cambio usted tan sólo me dio desventura
(En cambio usted)
Me quiso tanto y tanto
Que el pago de su amor fue un cheque falso
(En cambio usted)
Me dio desengaño y además
(Y no me supo querer)
Señores yo le di mi vida, yo que le entregué mi ser
(En cambio usted)
Me pagó con un cheque falso a su amor, así fue
(Y no me supo querer)
Que no me supo querer, no me supo amar, ingrata mujer
(En cambio usted) En cambio, en cambio usted, me dio desilusiones por eso digo que
(Y no me supo querer)
Jugó con mis sentimientos benditos y yo sin saber
(En cambio usted) Sin saber lo que estaba pasando
En sus garras me estaba atrapando
(Y no me supo querer)
Por fondos insuficientes su cheque no aceptaré
(En cambio usted)
(Y no me supo querer)
(En cambio usted)
(Y no me supo querer)
The song Cheque Falso by El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico tells the story of a man who gave everything to a woman he loved, but she did not love him back the same way. He gave her his heart, his soul, and even wrote romantic verses for her. He built a kingdom for her, not leaving out anything, wanting to make her great. Meanwhile, she took advantage of him and his love without him realizing it. He only wanted to worship her because he believed that true love means loving someone from the bottom of your heart and living your dream with them. However, the woman only gave him bitterness, disappointment, and disillusionment, and paid for his love with a fake check.
The lyrics use imagery and metaphor to convey the pain and betrayal of the heartbroken man. He compares his devotion to a castle that he built for his queen, but it turned out to be only a house of cards. The woman's actions were like scenes from a cruel plot, and he was the unsuspecting victim. The song portrays the theme of unrequited love, which is a universal experience that people can relate to. The man gave his all to the woman, but she did not reciprocate, leaving him with only a fake check as a token of her so-called love.
Line by Line Meaning
Le di mi amor a usted, mujer ingrata
I gave you my love, ungrateful woman
Le di mi corazón, le di mi alma
I gave you my heart, I gave you my soul
Inspirado en su amor le escribí versos
Inspired by your love, I wrote verses for you
Fui un trovador hambriento de sus besos
I was a troubadour hungry for your kisses
Como la quise tanto y no lo niego
I loved her so much and I don't deny it
Yo construí un castillo a su reino
I built a castle for her kingdom
A donde no faltaba ni un detalle
Where there was not a single detail missing
Porque mi anhelo era hacerle grande
Because my desire was to make her great
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me dio tanta amargura
You gave me so much bitterness
En cambio usted tan sólo me dio desventura
Instead you only gave me misfortune
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me quiso tanto y tanto
You loved me so much and so much
Que el pago de su amor fue un cheque falso
That the payment of your love was a false check
Mientras usted de mí se aprovechaba
While you took advantage of me
Yo sin saber sólo quería adorarla
I only wanted to worship you without knowing
Porque el que sabe amar ama de veras
Because the one who knows how to love truly loves
Y vive su ilusión insospechada
And lives his unsuspected illusion
Yo la veía reír, me equivocaba
I saw her laughing, I was wrong
Era una escena la que preparaba
It was a scene she was preparing
Y a cada paso cruel de su novela
And at each cruel step of her novel
Inocente mi alma yo le daba
Innocently I gave it to her
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me dio tanta amargura
You gave me so much bitterness
En cambio usted tan sólo me dio desventura
Instead you only gave me misfortune
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me quiso tanto y tanto
You loved me so much and so much
Que el pago de su amor fue un cheque falso
That the payment of your love was a false check
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me dio desengaño y además
You also gave me disillusionment
(Y no me supo querer)
(And didn't know how to love me)
Señores yo le di mi vida, yo que le entregué mi ser
Ladies and gentlemen, I gave her my life, I gave her my being
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
Me pagó con un cheque falso a su amor, así fue
You paid me with a false check for your love, that's how it was
(Y no me supo querer)
(And didn't know how to love me)
Que no me supo querer, no me supo amar, ingrata mujer
She didn't know how to love me, didn't know how to love me, ungrateful woman
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
(Y no me supo querer)
(And didn't know how to love me)
(En cambio usted)
(Instead you)
(Y no me supo querer)
(And didn't know how to love me)
Writer(s): Rafael Ithier
Contributed by Adam B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@keyberrodriguez3543
Vine aquí por un amigo le conté algo que me pasó con mi ex le entregué todo de mí y tuve un accidente que casi perdí la vida y en plena operación me dijo vamos a darnos tiempo xq como me vio todo jodido y hoy le doy gracias a Dios que me estoy recuperando de ese accidente y que cada día voy evolución y ella no sabrá el gran hombre que perdió a su lado
@carloscaicedo2368
Amigo sigue con tu vida seguro ella no era para ti Dios le da a cada persona lo que se merece por sus actos bien que se alejo de ti si duele y duele mucho algún dia sabra el gran ser humano que perdio espero que hallas aprendido mucho con la experiencia por que de cada deseción se rescata algo bueno.El que no aprende una vez no aprendera nunca un abrazo a distancia
@sebastiansepulvedaospina1827
asi son las mujeres... Asi me Paso a mi le di todo a La mujer que amaba y ella solo se escribia mkds con su jefe...
@miguelangelcordova899
Escúchala vale , hermano aceptación y pa lante ... Recuerda que solo se pierde lo que no es para uno
@yancellyvilla7950
Siento vergüenza ajena, en las buenas todos están pero cuando la pasamos mal , solo se quedan quienes de verdad no quieren...
Ánimo mijo, no sos el único al que han hecho sufrir, hoy me di cuenta que también me pagaron con un cheque falso.
Gracias GCP por su música, al gran Jerry Rivas 😍 👏☺️👏💚 🙏
@jhonaguilarvelez815
@@carloscaicedo2368 p Pop p
@abrahanpakistan7816
Quien escucha esto terminando el año 2023
@user-bk9vr9qf8c
Mientras ud de mi se aprovechaba. Yo sin saber solo quería adorarlo. Ufff dedicado a todos aquellos amores que no supieron valorarnos. 😒
@mariyacmar0610
LARGA VIDA AL GRAN COMBO LA MEJOR ORQUESTA DE SALSA O DIGAMOS UNA DE LAS MEJORES ❤ ESCUCHEN ESTE TEMAZO ❤ Y SUBELEEEEEEEEE
@alvarohernandez522
Tremendo temaaaaa... Mi madre , si si desde ccs Venezuela 🇻🇪♥️🎵🎼👽