Andy Montañez
Encyclopedia
Andrés Montañez better known as Andy Montañez, is a salsa
singer from Puerto Rico
.
and boxer Ossie Ocasio
, is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce San Juan
. He is known by the nickname "El Godfather de la Salsa". He is the first born out of 17 children.
group, with songs like "Hojas blancas" (White Leaves), "Un verano en N.Y." (A Summer at NY), "El barbero loco" (The Crazy Barber), "Julia", "Ponme el alcoholado, Juana" (Rub Me With Alcohol), "Vagabundo" (Bum), "El Swing", etc. He stayed for approximately 15 years, producing 37 LP's. He left El Gran Combo to pursue a career with Venezuelan group La Dimension Latina. Creating a feud between the two groups. After leaving El Gran Combo, he enjoyed considerable success on an international scale with his own orchestra, touring Latin America
and the United States
several times. He represented Puerto Rico at the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain.
to produce some boleros
and bohemian music. By 2005-06 he's creating a new blend between salsa and reggaeton
, called salsaton
, along with rappers like Daddy Yankee
and Julio Voltio
. In 2007 he filmed various television advertisements on nutrition for the Puerto Rico Department of Family Affairs (including one in which he sang a rhumba to a dancing carrot).
On November 2, 2006, Montañez won his first Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album, together with Pablo Milanés
. Montañez was selected to form part of a beneficial concert titled “Somos Haití”., where funds would be gathered to support Haiti
after the 2008 hurricane season.
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
singer from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Early life
Montañez, like singer Daniel SantosDaniel Santos (singer)
Daniel Santos was a singer and composer of boleros, and an overall performer of multiple Caribbean music genres, including guaracha, plena and rumba...
and boxer Ossie Ocasio
Ossie Ocasio
Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...
, is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. He is known by the nickname "El Godfather de la Salsa". He is the first born out of 17 children.
Musical career
Montañez first gained fame as a member of the internationally successful El Gran ComboEl Gran Combo
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican Salsa music orchestra. It is Puerto Rico's most successful musical group, and one of the most popular salsa orchestras across Latin America...
group, with songs like "Hojas blancas" (White Leaves), "Un verano en N.Y." (A Summer at NY), "El barbero loco" (The Crazy Barber), "Julia", "Ponme el alcoholado, Juana" (Rub Me With Alcohol), "Vagabundo" (Bum), "El Swing", etc. He stayed for approximately 15 years, producing 37 LP's. He left El Gran Combo to pursue a career with Venezuelan group La Dimension Latina. Creating a feud between the two groups. After leaving El Gran Combo, he enjoyed considerable success on an international scale with his own orchestra, touring Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
several times. He represented Puerto Rico at the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain.
Recent years
In recent years he had teamed up with fellow salsa singer Ismael MirandaIsmael Miranda
Ismael Miranda a.k.a. El niño bonito de la Salsa is a composer and a singer of salsa music.-Early years:...
to produce some boleros
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...
and bohemian music. By 2005-06 he's creating a new blend between salsa and reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
, called salsaton
Salsaton
-Background:Salsatón is a relatively new sub genre of both salsa and reggaetón. The songs primarily have salsa melodies and percussion, with reggaeton-style beats, such as the dem bow, and, occasionally, rapping. Some songs switch back and forth between salsa and reggaetón genres, while other songs...
, along with rappers like Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez , known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican Reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball,...
and Julio Voltio
Voltio
Julio Voltio is one of the reggaetón genre's best-known artists.His nickname came to be as the result of an accident. Before joining Karel, he worked as an electrician. One day, he stuck his hand in the wrong place and got shocked...
. In 2007 he filmed various television advertisements on nutrition for the Puerto Rico Department of Family Affairs (including one in which he sang a rhumba to a dancing carrot).
On November 2, 2006, Montañez won his first Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album, together with Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola...
. Montañez was selected to form part of a beneficial concert titled “Somos Haití”., where funds would be gathered to support Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
after the 2008 hurricane season.
El Gran Combo (1962-1976)
- De Siempre (1963)
- Acángana (1964)
- Ojos Chinos-Jala Jala (1964)
- El Caballo Pelotero (1965)
- El Swing de El Gran Combo (1966)
- En Navidad (1966)
- Maldito Callo (1967)
- Esos Ojitos Negros (1967)
- Fiesta con El Gran Combo (1967)
- Boogalaoos (1967)
- Tú Querías Boogaloo?...Toma Boogaloo! (1967)
- Pata-Pata, Jala Jala, Boogaloo (1967)
- Tangos (1968)
- Los Nenes Sicodélicos (1968)
- Latin Power (1968)
- Smile! It's (1968)
- Éste si Que Es (1969)
- Estamos Primeros (1970)
- De Punta a Punta (1971)
- Por el Libro (1972)
- En Acción (1973)
- Número 5 (1973)
- Disfrútelo Hasta el Cabo! (1974)
- Número 7 (1975)
- Los Sorullos (1975)
- Mejor Que Nunca (1976)
La Dimensión Latina (1977-1980)
- Los Generales de la Salsa (1977)
- Inconquistable (1978)
- Dimensión Desconocida (1978)
- Tremenda Dimensión (1978)
- Combinación Latina (1979)
- En el Madison Square Garden (1980)
Y Su Orquesta (1980)
- Salsa Con Caché (1980)
- Para Ustedes...Con Sabor! (1981)
- Sólo Boleros (1982)
- Hoy...y Ayer (1982)
- Tania & Andy (1984)
- Versátil (1984)
- Andy Montañez (1985)
- Mejor Acompañado que Nunca (1986)
- El Eterno Enamorado (1987)
- Todo Nuevo (1990)
- El Swing de Siempre (1992)
- Catedrático de la Salsa 1992
- Cantando Voy por el Mundo (1994)
- Cuerda Para Rato
- Producto de Exportación
- Salsatón - Salsa con Reggaetón (2006)
- El Godfather de la Salsa (2007)
- Andy y Atabal (2008)
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Biography in Music of Puerto Rico
- Interview with Andy Montanez on CorrienteLatina.com