Andy Montañez

The Caribbean's musical landscape bears the imprint of Spanish heritage through the performances of Puerto Rican singer Andy Montañez. He employs a plaintive, high nasal vocal style while building upon the traditions first developed by Hispanic farmers in Puerto Rico's mountainous regions. His initial prominence came in 1961 when he joined El Gran Combo as its lead vocalist, a role he held for the next 15 years. In 1977, he accepted an offer to serve as co-leader for Dimensi'n Latina, a band based in Venezuela, but departed three years later to launch his independent career. The ensemble maintains the same instrumental configuration as El Gran Combo, featuring two trumpets, two saxophones, bass, piano, along with Latin percussion elements such as conga, bongos, timbales, cowbell, and maracas. Salsa con Reggaetón represents his most recent album, released in 2006.