Costa Brava

Costa Brava ranked among the premier Puerto Rican salsa groups of the 1980s alongside El Gran Combo. The ensemble took shape in 1978 in Santa Isabel, a modest community on Puerto Rico’s southern coast, under the leadership of trumpeter Elvin Torres. His son Elvin Torres, Jr. eventually entered the lineup as pianist, composer, and arranger. In the band’s strongest period, projects such as Dando de Que Hablar (1986), A Tiempo Completo (1987), Orgullo de Puerto Rico (1988), and Costa Brava 90 (1990) consistently reached the Top 20 on Billboard’s Tropical/Salsa album chart. After the start of the following decade the group’s commercial profile declined, yet Costa Brava continued performing live and issuing recordings. Later independent releases, including Otra Vez (2004, EJR Music), Costa Brava en Navidad (2005, EJR Music), and ¡A Pico y Pala pa' Que No Joma! (2007, Envidia Records), did not replicate earlier sales but still captured the musicians in strong form.