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."
Y No Hago Mas Na
El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico Lyrics
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me doy un baño y me perfumo,
me como un buen desayuno
y no hago mas na', mas na'.
Después yo leo la prensa,
yo leo hasta las esquelas,
o me pongo a ver novelas
A la hora de las doce
yo me como un buen almuerzo
de arroz con habichuelas
y carne guisada, y no hago mas na'.
Después me voy a la banca
a dormir una siestita;
y a veces duermo dos horas
y a veces mas, y no hago mas na'.
Y me levanto como a las tres,
y me tomo un buen café,
me fumo un cigarillito con mi guitarra
y me pongo a cantar.
A la la, a la la, a la la lara la lara
Y a la hora de la comida
me prepara mi mujer
un bifstec con papas fritas
con ensalada y mil cosas mas.
Me lo mango y no hago mas na'.
Luego me voy al balcón,
cual si fuera un gran señor,
a mecerme en el sillón,
Con mi mujer a platicar.
A larara la la.
¡Ay!, cuando se me pega el sueño
enseguidita me voy a acostar,
y duermo hasta por la mañana
y no hago mas na', mas na'.
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
¡Oigan!, yo nunca he doblado el lomo
y no pierdan su tiempo, no voy a cambiar. ¡Qué va!
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
Señores, si yo estoy declarado en huelga, ¡si!,
¡mi mujer que me mantenga! ¿Oiste?
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
Qué bueno, qué bueno, qué bueno,
qué bueno es vivir la vida,
¡comiendo, durmiendo y no haciendo na'!
Oiga compay, ¿usted sabe lo que es estar en un sillón mece que te mece?
Esperando que lleguen los cupones del Seguro Social...
¡Asi cualquiera!
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
Recibiendo la pensión por loco,
de loco yo no tengo na', ¡listo que soy!
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
Qué bueno...
Traen un plato de mondongo,
arroz, habichuela y carne guisa, para empezar.
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
¿Quién trabajara? ¿Quién, yo?
Buscate a otro, yo ya hice lo que iba a hacer.
The song "Y No Hago Mas Na'" by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico features lyrics that are both humorous and satirical in nature. The song's message is that it is much better to live a life of leisure and not work than it is to be caught up in the daily grind of a job or career. The lyrics describe a day in the life of someone who does very little and enjoys every moment of it.
The song opens with the singer describing his morning routine of getting up, taking a shower, having breakfast, and not doing anything else. He then goes on to describe reading the newspaper, watching soap operas, and taking naps during the day. He talks about having a delicious lunch of rice and beans with stewed meat and then going back to sleep for a few more hours. In the evening, he has coffee and a cigarette, plays his guitar, and sings.
The chorus of the song exclaims how great it is to live this kind of life where you can eat, sleep, and not work. The verses continue to describe the simple pleasures of life, such as sitting on the balcony with his wife and waiting for social security checks, while making fun of those who are obsessed with working hard for nothing.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo me levanto por la mañana, me doy un baño y me perfumo, me como un buen desayuno y no hago mas na', mas na'.
I wake up in the morning, take a bath, dress up, have a good breakfast and then I don't do anything else.
Después yo leo la prensa, yo leo hasta las esquelas, o me pongo a ver novelas y no hago mas na', mas na'.
I read the newspaper, even obituaries, or watch soap operas and then I don't do anything else.
A la hora de las doce yo me como un buen almuerzo de arroz con habichuelas y carne guisada, y no hago mas na'.
At noon, I have a delicious lunch of rice with beans and stewed meat, and then I don't do anything else.
Después me voy a la banca a dormir una siestita; y a veces duermo dos horas y a veces mas, y no hago mas na'.
Then I go to the park to take a nap, sometimes I sleep for two hours or more, and then I don't do anything else.
Y me levanto como a las tres, y me tomo un buen café, me fumo un cigarillito con mi guitarra y me pongo a cantar. A la la, a la la, a la la lara la lara
I wake up at around 3 pm, have a good coffee, smoke a cigarette while playing my guitar, and then I start singing. A la la, a la la, a la la lara la lara.
Y a la hora de la comida me prepara mi mujer un bifstec con papas fritas con ensalada y mil cosas mas. Me lo mango y no hago mas na'.
At dinner time, my wife prepares a steak with french fries, salad and many other things. I eat it and then I don't do anything else.
Luego me voy al balcón, cual si fuera un gran señor, a mecerme en el sillón, con mi mujer a platicar. A larara la la.
After that, I go to the balcony, sit on my chair like a great lord, and chat with my wife while rocking the chair. A larara la la.
¡Ay!, cuando se me pega el sueño enseguida me voy a acostar, y duermo hasta por la mañana y no hago mas na', mas na'.
When I feel sleepy, I go back to bed and sleep until morning, and then I don't do anything else.
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar) ¡Oigan!, yo nunca he doblado el lomo y no pierdan su tiempo, no voy a cambiar. ¡Qué va! (Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
It's good to live like this, eating and not working. Hey, I've never worked hard, and I won't change. No way! It's good to live like this, eating and not working.
Señores, si yo estoy declarado en huelga, ¡si!, ¡mi mujer que me mantenga! ¿Oiste? (Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
Gentlemen, I am on strike, so my wife should support me! Got it? It's good to live like this, eating and not working.
Qué bueno, qué bueno, qué bueno, qué bueno es vivir la vida, ¡comiendo, durmiendo y no haciendo na'! Oiga compay, ¿usted sabe lo que es estar en un sillón mece que te mece? Esperando que lleguen los cupones del Seguro Social... ¡Asi cualquiera!
It's good, it's good, it's good to live life like this, eating, sleeping and not doing anything else! Hey friend, do you know what it's like to sit on a rocking chair waiting for social security coupons to arrive? Anyone can do it!
(Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar) Recibiendo la pensión por loco, de loco yo no tengo na', ¡listo que soy! (Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar)
It's good to live like this, eating and not working. I receive a pension as if I am crazy, but I'm not crazy, I'm clever! It's good to live like this, eating and not working.
Traen un plato de mondongo, arroz, habichuela y carne guisa, para empezar. (Qué bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar) ¿Quién trabajara? ¿Quién, yo? Buscate a otro, yo ya hice lo que iba a hacer.
They bring a plate of tripe stew, rice, and beans to start with. It's good to live like this, eating and not working. Who will work? Not me! Look for someone else because I already did what I had to do.
Contributed by Kaylee T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.