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."
Milonga sentimental
El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Milonga sentimental.
Unos se quedan llorando,
Yo canto por no llorar.
Tu amor se secó de golpe,
Nunca dijiste por qué.
Yo me consuelo pensando
Que fue traición de mujer.
Varón, pa' quererla mucho,
Varón, pa' desearla el bien,
Varón, pa' olvidar agravios
Porque ya te perdoné.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
Tal vez no lo puedas creer,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
Verme tirao a tus pies!
Es fácil pegar un tajo
Pa' cobrar una traición,
O jugar en una daga
La suerte de una pasión.
Pero no es fácil cortarse
Los tientos de un metejón,
Cuando están bien amarrados
Al palo del corazón.
Varón, pa' quererla mucho,
Varón, pa' desearla el bien,
Varón, pa' olvidar agravios
Porque ya te perdoné.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
Tal vez no lo puedas creer,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
Verme tirao a tus pies!
Varon, pa olvidar agravios
Varon, pa quererla mucho
Varon, que yo la perdone
Varon, mira varon
Varon, oye varon
Varon, varon varon
Milonga Sentimental by El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico is a song that reflects on lost love and the pain and heartbreak that comes with it. The singer sings about his memories and feelings of a past love that ended suddenly without any explanation. He copes with his pain by singing and playing music, hoping that he will find solace in the memories of their past love. He also speculates that the reason for their break-up was due to infidelity on the part of his former lover.
The song emphasizes the importance of forgiveness and how difficult it can be to let go of someone you once loved deeply. The singer urges himself to be strong and move on even though his heart has been shattered. He reminds himself that it takes a real man to love someone deeply, forgive their mistakes, and let them go. The singer hopes that one day his former lover will understand the depth of his emotions and the extent of the pain that their sudden break-up caused him.
El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico's Milonga Sentimental is a soulful and emotional song that speaks to the heart of anyone who has experienced the pain of lost love. It is an important work of art that reflects the emotions and experiences of many people worldwide who have gone through the same heart-wrenching experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Milonga pa' recordarte,
A nostalgic song to remember you,
Milonga sentimental.
A sentimental song filled with emotions
Unos se quedan llorando,
Some people stay crying,
Yo canto por no llorar.
I sing to avoid crying.
Tu amor se secó de golpe,
Your love suddenly dried up,
Nunca dijiste por qué.
You never said why.
Yo me consuelo pensando
I find comfort in thinking
Que fue traición de mujer.
That it was a woman's betrayal.
Varón, pa' quererla mucho,
Man, to love her deeply,
Varón, pa' desearla el bien,
Man, to wish her well,
Varón, pa' olvidar agravios
Man, to forget grievances
Porque ya te perdoné.
Because I already forgave you.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
Maybe you'll never know
Tal vez no lo puedas creer,
Maybe you won't believe it,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
Maybe it will make you laugh
Verme tirao a tus pies!
To see me at your feet!
Es fácil pegar un tajo
It's easy to cut a wound
Pa' cobrar una traición,
To avenge a betrayal.
O jugar en una daga
Or play with a dagger
La suerte de una pasión.
The fate of a passion.
Pero no es fácil cortarse
But it's not easy to cut
Los tientos de un metejón,
The ties of a love affair
Cuando están bien amarrados
When they are tightly tied
Al palo del corazón.
To the post of the heart.
Varón, pa' quererla mucho,
Man, to love her deeply,
Varón, pa' desearla el bien,
Man, to wish her well,
Varón, pa' olvidar agravios
Man, to forget grievances
Porque ya te perdoné.
Because I already forgave you.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
Maybe you'll never know
Tal vez no lo puedas creer,
Maybe you won't believe it,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
Maybe it will make you laugh
Verme tirao a tus pies!
To see me at your feet!
Varon, pa olvidar agravios
Man, to forget grievances,
Varon, pa quererla mucho
Man, to love her deeply,
Varon, que yo la perdone
Man, that I forgive her
Varon, mira varon
Man, look man
Varon, oye varon
Man, listen man
Varon, varon varon
Man, man, man
Writer(s): SEBASTIAN PIANA, HOMERO MANZIONE
Contributed by Nicholas K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marceltdj3757
Milonga pa' recordarte,
milonga sentimental.
Otros se quejan llorando,
yo canto por no llorar.
Tu amor se secó de golpe,
nunca dijiste por qué.
Yo me consuelo pensando
que fue traición de mujer.
Varón, pa' quererte mucho,
varón, pa' desearte el bien,
varón, pa' olvidar agravios
porque ya te perdoné.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
tal vez no lo puedas creer,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
verme tirao a tus pies!
Es fácil pegar un tajo
pa' cobrar una traición,
o jugar en una daga
la suerte de una pasión.
Pero no es fácil cortarse
los tientos de un metejón,
cuando están bien amarrados
al palo del corazón.
Varón, pa' quererte mucho,
varón, pa' desearte el bien,
varón, pa' olvidar agravios
porque ya te perdoné.
Tal vez no lo sepas nunca,
tal vez no lo puedas creer,
¡tal vez te provoque risa
verme tirao a tus pies!
@guillermoulisescorimayo1911
Nunca había escuchado esta versión. Hermosa y con mucho ritmo. Saludos hermanos boricuas desde Jujuy, Argentina.
@lopz33
Un día como hoy, 23 de junio de 1973, debutó Charlie Aponte con El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, para empezar una brillante etapa dentro de su carrera musical, que duraría por 41 años. Maestro, saludos. 🎵🎤🎶😀😀😀😀😀
@lopz33
Un día como hoy, 2 de febrero de 1951, nació en Caguas, Puerto Rico, el cantautor Charlie Aponte. Maestro, felicitaciones. 🎵🎤🖋🎶🎉🎂🎊😀😀😀😀😀
@colmenarafaelpomboymas9838
Grandes leyendas de la música 2
@julianrojas6218
muy chevere esta version
@miguelangelkawasango4416
Yo me llamo miguel Kawasaki,colombiano.denme datos de Caguas.
@lopz33
Un día como hoy, 26 de mayo de 1962, se fundó El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Los Mulatos del Sabor. ¡Felicidades!🎵🎂🎹🎺🎷🎶🎉🎊😀😀😀😀😀
@UtenZork
Yo soy un amante del tango, cuando vi el título y que era en salsa no me la creía, está muy buena esta versión de Milonga sentimental, grande Homero Manzi, grande el Gran Combo!
@spanishmasterpieces5203
Una pieza muy bonita!
@lilianaharms4907
Grande el autor de la musica de Milonga Sentimental, un groso Sebastian Piana y el gran poeta,escritor Homero Manzi,recreada en ritmo de salsa por El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico,muy linda versión,