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."
Mujer Celosa
El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que cuando llegues a las tres de la mañana te abra la boca.
Y si tu llegas mareadito con tus tragos se vuelve loca
Y, de sin vergüenza para abajo, no te dice otra cosa.
Y si por descuido se te olvida rebuscar el pantalón,
Es lo mas seguro que te va a encontrar allí la dirección
De otra y eres hombre muerto.
En seguida te van a dar en la chala un sartenazo.
Dormirás en el terrazo, digo, si es que tienes suerte
Porque hay doñas que son fuertes que tiran a uno a la calle
Y sin lujos de detalles te montan tremendo caso
Y a los dos días hasta el gato se niega a saludarte.
Pero que malo es querer a una mujer que sea celosa
Que malo es querer, querer así a una mujer celosa
Oye como pelea, como me grita de una manera espantosa
No, negra no, ya no me molestes mas, mira que ya no te aguanto
Si te quedaste en el billar, ella dice que tu andabas con otra
Te voy a poner, te voy a poner, te voy a poner, a poner el divorcio
Si tu sigues con tus cosas
Que malo es querer, querer así a una mujer celosa
Que malo es querer, querer así a una mujer celosa
Dicen que el que celar es por que quiere, de esa manera no me quieras rosa
Yo, yo no me muero sin probarte a ti que celar te vuelve loca
Que malo es querer, querer isa a una mujer celosa
The lyrics to El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico's song "Mujer Celosa" describe the difficulties of loving a jealous woman. The singer laments how this woman becomes furious when he arrives home at 3 am or when he comes home drunk. Her jealousy and possessiveness have a way of suffocating him that he can't take it anymore. Even if he forgets to empty his pocket or if she sees a woman talking to him, she assumes the worst and lashes out violently. The singer's fear is so palpable that he feels like he's a dead man if she finds another woman's address in his pocket.
Furthermore, the song mentions how this type of woman can make your life miserable, leading to a divorce or even physical abuse. The lyrics show that loving a jealous woman is a double-edged sword that can lead to emotional turmoil and a constant fear of saying or doing anything wrong.
Overall, this song is a cautionary tale for men to be careful whom they choose to love and warns of the destructive power of jealousy.
Line by Line Meaning
Que malo es querer a una mujer que sea celosa
It's not good to love a woman who is jealous of everything you do.
Que cuando llegues a las tres de la mañana te abra la boca.
When you come home at three in the morning, she'll start arguing with you.
Y si tu llegas mareadito con tus tragos se vuelve loca
If you come home drunk, she'll get even crazier.
Y, de sin vergüenza para abajo, no te dice otra cosa.
And, she won't hesitate to make you feel ashamed of yourself.
Y si por descuido se te olvida rebuscar el pantalón,
If you forget to check your pants' pockets,
Es lo mas seguro que te va a encontrar allí la dirección De otra y eres hombre muerto.
There's a high chance she'll find another woman's phone number and you'll be in trouble.
En seguida te van a dar en la chala un sartenazo.
She'll hit you with a frying pan right away.
Dormirás en el terrazo, digo, si es que tienes suerte
You'll sleep on the terrace if you're lucky,
Porque hay doñas que son fuertes que tiran a uno a la calle
Because some women are strong enough to kick you out of the house
Y sin lujos de detalles te montan tremendo caso
And they won't hesitate to make a big scene.
Y a los dos días hasta el gato se niega a saludarte.
And even the cat won't want to greet you after two days.
Pero que malo es querer a una mujer que sea celosa
But it's not good to love a jealous woman.
Dicen que el que celar es por que quiere, de esa manera no me quieras rosa
They say that if someone is jealous, it's because they care, but don't love me in a way that makes you jealous.
Yo, yo no me muero sin probarte a ti que celar te vuelve loca
I won't die without proving to you that your jealousy drives you crazy.
Que malo es querer, querer isa a una mujer celosa
It's not good to love, love a jealous woman.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: PETER VELAZQUEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Salsero
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
1962 La Universidad de la Salsa
Pocas agrupaciones músicales han perdurado medio siglo manteniendo inalterable su identidad rítmica, superando los empujes de la industria discográfica y resistiendo los avatares de la cultura de consumo como lo ha hecho El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
Distinto a otras orquestas salseras, en particular las surgidas en Nueva York desde finales de la década de 1960, nuestros denominados "Mulatos del Sabor" siempre han protegido su timbre músical de innovaciones y experimentos complejos, salvaguardando el sonido propio, sencillo y cadencioso que le ha caracterizado desde su fundación, el 26 de mayo de 1962.
No quiere decir que a lo largo de 50 años de historia hayan evadido la significación de las nuevas técnicas y tendencias armónicas arribadas por nuevos tiempos y nuevas generaciones. Por el contrario, las estudian y disfrutan pero, por lo general, las mantienen en cautelosa distancia para evitar contagiar los rasgos identitarios de su sonoridad. Gracias a esa circunspección creativa, el grupo, comandado por Rafael Ithier Nadal, ha logrado establecer una rúbrica como muy pocas otras agrupaciones afroantillanas.
Su vigencia responde, además, a la sincronía entre creación artística, que suma música y talento, y fraternidad colectiva, zurcidas en una ética de trabajo singular que se sostiene en la filosofía del cooperativismo.Pero más allá del sonido y la rítmica de sus canciones, si ponderamos otros elementos creativos y sociológicos concluimos que El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico es el grupo que mejor define lo que denominamos salsa y, sin temor a equivocarnos, nadie en el entorno latinoamericano y caribeño, dentro o fuera de Estados Unidos, ha alcanzado igualar su distinción y su preeminencia histórica.
luis fernando murillo ramirez
a mi me dan ganas es de ponerme a llorar cuando escucho a estos señores de la salsa a mis 56 años esta musica me trae el recuerdo de mi juventud cuando era un chico fiestero en mi medellin del alma nunca habra otra musica como esta tan llena de sentimiento y con esas voces tan maravillosas dios los vendiga a todos los exponentes de tan maravillosa musica que viva puerto rico y el pueblo latino
Lucero Guerrero
Grande el Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, 💪💪👏👏👏👏👌🙏☀️ esto jamás pasará 💪🤗 esto es Arte ☀️🙏🐱😁 saludos cordiales Bogotá
(Colombia) 🌳😽
monica vives
Estas mal, esto levanta los ánimos a cualquiera
Guna Sergio Cammalleri
El cantante mio preferido❤
Edilberto Gallego
Tú lo dijiste todo!!!!!!!
Soy caleño vivo en el extranjero me produce muchisimas memorias!!
En especial cuando uno vee los hijos y Nietos escuchando esa música degradante que le llaman Regueton!!!!!!
Donny Gonzalez
Que talento tiene esa pequena isla del caribe.....Puerto Rico es una tierra de gigantes....Gracias a las obras musicales y artisticas por el mundo entero. Por mayor parte mi querido Mexico y Puerto Rico hicieron que el mundo reconozcan la raza latina! Sin dudas en este momento el movimiento de Latino America es un movimiento mundial. Que viva la raza!!!
GIF CANCEL
Como Puerto Rriqueño amo a los Mexicanos y Salvadoreños y otros países. Pero el reggeton ha sido la ruina del mundo y no vino de Puerto Rico pero de el General de Panamá. Viva la l
Salsa buena. El reggeton no es Hispano.
Jose Quiles
savias que la meca de la salsa no fue Cuba ni puerto rico 😢 fue Mexico desde Los 1930 en adelante El verdadero propursol de la salsa fue El cinema Mexicano busca la historia del jibarito Rafael Hernandez Marin boricua vivio en Mexico 15 años y escribio la cansion que Chula es puebla se caso' en Mexico con 1 Mexicana y tubo 4 hijos
Jose Herrera
Gracias al canal por permitir escuchar a la universidad de la salsa. soy colombiano y APOYO mi música de guayacan niche y fruko y el gran Joe Arroyo pero esta orquesta del gran combo de puerto es fuera de serie diría yo que es la mejor de todos los tiempos los admiro saludos desde Bogotá Colombia 🙏
Gregorio Cruces
En México nos gusta la salsa de Puerto rico🥁🎵🎷🎼🎹🎶🇵🇷🇲🇽