1. Roberto Roena Vazquez was a Puerto Rican salsa music percussionist, orchestra leader, and dancer.
23 Facts About Roberto Roena
1. 2.
Roberto Roena later became the leader of his own band, "Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound", widely considered one of the best Latin salsa bands in Puerto Rico.
3.
Roberto Roena had been a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, a salsa supergroup that has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s.
4.
When Roberto Roena was nine years old, his family settled in Santurce, where the brothers continued to refine their mambo and cha-cha-cha routines, delighting their public in talent contests.
5.
Roberto Roena, aside from being a dancer, was a talented at playing percussion conga drum.
6.
When Roberto Roena was 16 years old, Cortijo was in need of a bongo player for a group that he was forming.
7.
Visualizing a bongo player that could dance and play the cowbell at the same time, Cortijo recruited Roberto Roena to join his new band, and personally taught Roberto Roena how to play both instruments.
8.
For seven years, Roberto Roena was part of Cortijo's group and his Combo, with Ismael Rivera as vocalist.
9.
Out of gratitude and loyalty to Rafael Cortijo, his mentor, Roberto Roena did not join the new Combo immediately.
10.
El Gran Combo became the new sensation in Latin music, and Roberto Roena was part of the group until 1969.
11.
Roberto Roena was a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, the showcase group for the Fania Records label, which has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s.
12.
Roberto Roena recorded his signature song, "Coro Miyare", with the group; live performances of the song featured Roena playing the bongos and dancing with his uncle, legendary salsa dancer Anibal Vazquez, in a choreographed section that almost always received standing ovations from the audience.
13.
Mr Roberto Roena took a giant step in the fusion of salsa with jazz, in the 1970s, by joining forces with African superstar Manu Dibango of "Soul Makossa" fame.
14.
Roberto Roena always considered variety as the key to success, leading him to include in his musical repertoire everything from go-go to the romantic, the same in English as in Spanish.
15.
Nevertheless, Roberto Roena maintained himself by collaborating and recording independently with local groups.
16.
In 1990, Roberto Roena tried to revive the concept of Apollo Sound.
17.
Roberto Roena opened a concert for British rock singer Sting at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, where he presented his hit salsa version of "Every Breath You Take".
18.
Roberto Roena was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003.
19.
Roberto Roena was born in barrio Dulces Labios in Mayaguez on January 16,1940.
20.
Roberto Roena's parents were Raquel Maria Vazquez Plaza and Francisco Roena.
21.
Roberto Roena had two daughters, Brenda and Gladys and two sons, Ivan and Francisco.
22.
Roberto Roena died in a hospital in Carolina, Puerto Rico on September 23,2021, after suffering a heart attack.
23.
Roberto Roena was buried at Monte Calvario Cemetery in Caguas, Puerto Rico.