Rafael Ithier

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Wikipedia

Rafael Ithier
Background information
Born(1926-08-29)29 August 1926[1]
Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Died6 December 2025(2025-12-06) (aged 99)
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Genres
OccupationMusician
Years active1945–2025
Labels

Rafael Ithier Natal[2] (29 August 1926 – 6 December 2025) was a Puerto Rican salsa musician and the founder of the highly successful orchestra El Gran Combo.[3]

Early life

Ithier was born in the Puerta de Tierra neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 29 August 1926.[4][5][6][7][8] Raised in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico,[9][10] he showed a passion for music at a very young age. His father was Nicolas Ithier and his mother Mérida Natal. His uncle, Salvador Ithier, played music together with Rafael Hernández, another of Puerto Rico's music legends. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War.[11] While stationed in Korea he formed a music group entitled the Los Borinqueneers Mambo Boys.[12]

Musical career

Ithier Natal became an expert guitarist in the bolero genre, and he was a member of the Tito Henriquez group, Taone. His sister Esperanza later inspired him to learn how to play the piano.[13]

Ithier Natal and his namesake, Rafael Cortijo, knew each other and formed a friendship at an early age; rumors of animosity would later surface but they both denied it, saying they considered themselves to be "like brothers". Ithier Natal joined Cortijo's orchestra, "Cortijo y su Combo", during the 1950s.[citation needed]

In 1977 Ithier Natal worked as a music arranger on the debut album for the Puerto Rican ensemble band "Puerto Rico All Stars".[citation needed]

In 2000 Ithier Natal was inducted to the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.

El Gran Combo

In 1962, Ithier Natal formed "El Gran Combo", becoming the orchestra's leader. As of 2012, he was still the orchestra leader and continued to tour with the group.[14] On his 90th birthday he was interviewed and stated that El Gran Combo was successful because of their great discipline.[11]

Personal life and death

Ithier was married and had five children. His father died when Rafael was eight years old.[15]

Ithier died at his home in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, of natural causes, on 6 December 2025, at the age of 99. He was buried at Cementerio Los Cipreses in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Legaspi, Althea (7 December 2025). "Rafael Ithier, Salsa Great and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico Leader, Dead at 99". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  2. ↑ Guadalupe Pérez, Hiram. "Sobre nosotros: 'Que le pongan salsa': los 50 años de El Gran Combo". El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Harris, Craig. "Biography: Rafael Ithier". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Rafael Ithier". Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Williams, Alex (19 December 2025). "Rafael Ithier, Ambassador of Puerto Rican Music, Dies at 99". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Adiós a Rafael Ithier, fundador de El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico". Telemundo Puerto Rico (in Spanish). 14 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Soto-Quiroga, Marcelo (8 December 2025). "Adiós a Rafael Ithier, el arquitecto eterno de la salsa puertorriqueña". Faro Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Rafael Ithier". EcuRed. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Fallece Rafael Ithier, la esencia de El Gran Combo". Metro. 6 December 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  10. ↑ Hernández Suárez, Bibiana. "Rafael Ithier Natal". Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Rafael Ithier celebra sus 90 años". Primera Hora. 29 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Alvarez-Pacheco, Ruben (8 May 2017). "Rafael Ithier, el grandes ligas que no llegó al béisbol". Blogs El Universal. Open Publishing. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Sarmiento, Isabella Gomez (7 December 2025). "Rafael Ithier, a legend of salsa music, dies at 99". NPR. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "13 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in N.Y.C. This Weekend". The New York Times. 14 February 2019.
  15. ↑ "Puerto Rico salsa giant Rafael Ithier, who led El Gran Combo for more than half a century, dies". AP News. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.

See also