El Gran Combo Some information in this article or section has not been verified and may not be reliable . Please check for any inaccuracies , and modify and cite sources as needed . El Gran Combo is a Puerto Rican Salsa music orchestra . It is Puerto Rico 's most successful musical group , and one of Salsa 's most famous groups across Latin America . Since many of the genre 's legendary singers have been members of the orchestra , the band has been given the moniker La Universidad de la Salsa ( The University of Salsa ) El Gran Combo was founded by Rafael Ithier in May of 1962 . Ithier is still , as of 2006 , the orchestra 's pianist and musical director . Ithier had been a member of Rafael Cortijo 's `` Combo '' orchestra , travelling to the eastern United States before forming El Gran Combo . For their first gig , the orchestra was signed by the legendary Cuban comedian , writer and businessman Alvarez Guedes , who hired El Gran Combo to support Dominican singer Joseito Mateo on one of his albums . On May 21 , 1962 , El Gran Combo was heard for the first time on Puerto Rican radio . Later on , they became the on-studio musicians of the live television show , `` La Taberna India '' , sponsored by India Beer . El Gran Combo by then was already associated with some of Puerto Rico 's better known Salsa personalities : Sammy Ayala , who had also played with the Cortijo orchestra , kept his friendship with Ithier ; he would be instrumental in the hiring of Andy Montanez . Pellin Rodriguez and Chiqui Garcia , two of the most famous Salsa singers of the era , were already singing for El Gran Combo . Felipe Rodriguez , another legendary Salsa singer , also followed the group 's career closely , sometimes even making suggestions to Ithier . El Gran Combo released their first album , `` Acangana '' , with Rodriguez and Montanez as leading voices . The album became a number one hit in New York , Panama and Puerto Rico . Other members of El Gran Combo included , at the time , dancer & percussionist Roberto Roena and musician Elias Lopez . These two members caused a void in the group when they left the band to pursue their own professional interests , soon after the orchestra had been let go by Alvarez Guedes ' recording company , Gema Records in early 1970 . Regardless of the problems these events caused , the orchestra continued experiencing success in Latin America through the 1960s and into the 1970s . A peculiar event happened early in 1970 , when , returning to Puerto Rico from Curaçao , the group had to stop at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo ; One of the band 's members had a bad feeling about the flight they were about to embark in , and the orchestra decided not to take that flight , which would turn out to be the Dominicana Airlines DC-9 that crashed off the Caribbean coast . By 1970 , El Gran Combo had found a new recording company , Combo Records , That same year , El Gran Combo introduced the trombone to their list of instruments . The trombone was played by Fanny Ceballos . Soon after , their second production was released , named `` De punta a punta '' ( `` From Coast to Coast '' ) . In 1973 , Pellin Rodriguez left the group to continue on as a Salsa singer elsewhere . His death of heart related complications in 1984 made headlines all over Puerto Rico . Legendary Salsa musician Jerry Concepcion and the well known sportscaster Rafael Bracero , friends of Ithier , helped Ithier decide to replace Rodriguez with Charlie Aponte . In 1973 , El Gran Combo sang in front of 50 , 000 fans at the famous Yankee Stadium in New York City . Montanez left the band in 1977 and went to live in Venezuela , where he replaced Oscar De Leon in another orchestra , `` Dimension Latina `` . Jerry Rivas was then chosen to join the orchestra . Rivas is still a member of El Gran Combo . In 1977 , `` El Gran Combo en Navidad `` , a Christmas album , was released , with Martin Quinones appearing as Santa Claus in the album 's cover . After a car accident , Quinones was replaced in the band by his son , Martin Quinones Jr . Quinones Jr. lasted until 1979 , being replaced by Luis Diaz . The orchestra has released over 40 albums or CD 's , and it has received many awards , including golden albums , a `` Calendario de Plata '' in Mexico , a `` Golden Combo '' in Colombia , a `` Paoli Award `` in their native Puerto Rico , a honorable distinction in Spain and countless others . See also List of famous Puerto Ricans External links Booking Agent for El Gran Combo profile Categories : Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | Puerto Rican musical groups In other languages : Français | Svenska 