Rafael Cortijo

Über Rafael Cortijo

Rafael Cortijo was the bandleader who took Puerto Rico's Afro-Boricua bomba and plena from the coastal barrios to national radio and television. With his group Cortijo y su Combo and the voice of Ismael Rivera out front, he modernized the roots tradition into a tight, brass-driven ensemble that became the blueprint for the salsa orchestra. His late-1950s hits made Black Puerto Rican music a source of island-wide pride and reshaped the country's popular sound.