Tony Vega Cesar was born on July 13,1957 and is a Puerto Rican salsa singer.
23 Facts About Tony Vega
1.
2.
Tony Vega's family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he was three months old, and remained there until he was 10 years old, before moving to Puerto Rico.
3.
Tony Vega was born into a family of musicians so, therefore, he learned how to play the bongos and conga at an early age.
4.
Latin music was popular in New York during the 1970s and while Vega played the conga for Latin rock bands, he started to become more and more interested in the afroantillano style of music better known as salsa.
5.
Tony Vega listened to and was influenced by Ismael Rivera, Rafael Cortijo, Rafael Ithier and El Gran Combo.
6.
Tony Vega started as a member of Orquesta La Preferida from 1971 to 1973.
7.
Tony Vega was the primary conga player and sang on their chorus.
8.
Tony Vega did come chorus while a member of the Willie Rosario Orquesta with Gilberto Santa Rosa on two songs recorded by the Orquesta La Preferida for the late promotor Ruben Haddock.
9.
In 1978, after he graduated from high school, Tony Vega auditioned and was accepted by La Selecta, a well known salsa band directed by Raphy Leavitt.
10.
In 1980, Tony Vega was doing a show with La Selecta and in the audience was another salsa bandleader, Willie Rosario.
11.
Rosario was impressed with Tony Vega and invited him to join his band.
12.
Tony Vega did and participated in many recordings, and from 1981 to 1986, he shared credits with a young singer, Gilberto Santa Rosa.
13.
Tony Vega played an essential role in the recording of "La Nueva Cosecha" which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
14.
In 1986, Tony Vega joined the Louie Ramirez band before returning to Puerto Rico.
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Tony Vega participated in the recording of La Verdad, which won a Grammy Award for Palmieri.
16.
Tony Vega traveled with the band to Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Yugoslavia.
17.
In 1988, Tony Vega formed his own band and recorded "solo" for the first time.
18.
Tony Vega then followed that with the recording of Lo Mio es Amor, which included the songs "Ella" and an English language track "Love is Forever".
19.
In 1991, Tony Vega won a platinum record with the success of his album Uno Mismo.
20.
Tony Vega appeared at the New York Salsa Festival in 1989,1990 and 1991.
21.
Tony Vega continues to perform but, not as often as before.
22.
Tony Vega was among a committee sent to Spain by the Government of Puerto Rico to represent the island when it was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award.
23.
In 1996, Tony Vega participated with Marc Anthony in the opening ceremonies of the 7th Gymnastics World Championships celebrated in Puerto Rico.