Roberto Roena

Name: Roberto Roena
Date of birth: January 16, 1938
Place of birth: Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Roena was one of the original members of a Puerto Rican salsa music orchestra called El Gran Combo. A member of Fania All-Stars since 1973, Roena is a master Latin percussionist. Besides working with his own band (Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound), he is a bongo player and dancer of salsa. Roena has played his bongos and congas for salsa illuminaries such as Rubén Blades, Tito Cruz, Papo Sanchez, Adalberto Santiago, Elias Lopes and Julio "Gunda" Merced.

Early days
Born in the neighbourhood of Labios de Mayagüez, Roena took his first steps in the art of dance by staging dance routines with his brother Cuqui in La Sultana del Oeste. When Roberto was nine years old, his family settled in Santurce. The brothers continued to refine their mambo and cha-cha-chá routines, delighting the public at talent contests. This led to their contract of weekly performances on the television program “La Taberna India” on Channel Two. During the recordings, the percussionist Rafael Cortijo saw Roena in action.

In1956, when Roena was 16 years old, Cortijo needed a bongo player for the group that he was forming. Visualizing a bongo player that could dance and play the cowbell at the same time, it was Cortijo himself that taught Roberto how to play those instruments. For seven years, Roena was part of Cortijo’s group and his Combo, with Ismael Rivera as vocalist. Eventually Cortijo left for New York in search of new musicians, and in nine months, Roberto, who had stayed in Puerto Rico, decided to enter El Gran Combo, which was then being led by pianist Rafael Ithier. El Gran Combo became the new sensation in Latin music, and Roena was part of the group until the year 1969. Desiring to establish his own salsa orchestra, Roberto formed “Los Megatones” in 1967, playing Latin Jazz Wednesday nights at a local club.

Music Career
Roena, aside from being a percussionist, was also a dancer and baseball player. In 1969, he formed one of the best Latin salsa bands in Puerto Rico called Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound. Also, Roena has been a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, a salsa group that has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s. He 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 Aníbal Vázquez, in a choreographed section that almost always received standing ovations from the audience.

His fame began when he accompanied Ismael Rivera on the popular TV program "El Show de Cortijo Y Su Combo", aired daily between 1954 and 1955. The show  established him as one of the world’s best percussionists. In 1962 he joined El Gran Combo in Puerto Rico, and 7 years later formed his own band.

Roberto 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. Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound’s first CD produced hits of great impact like “Tú loco loco y yo tranquilo,” “El escapulario,” and “El sordo.” In fact, it was Apollo Sound who popularized the Bobby Capó classic, “Soñando con Puerto Rico.”

Beginning in the 80’s, Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound experienced a fade in their popularity, reflecting the crisis that was sweeping through the salsa movement in general. Nevertheless, Roberto maintained himself by collaborating and recording independently with local groups. In 1990, Roena tried to revive the concept of Apollo Sound.

In 1994, he celebrated 25 years with his orchestra in a successful concert at the Centro de Bellas Artes, which was recorded and launched to the market, presenting the validity of his musical proposal before a new generation.


Trivia:
Roena took a giant step in the fusion of salsa in the 1970s by joining forces with African superstar Manu Dibango of "Soul Makossa".

Complementing the musicality of the salsa group was always the showmanship inherent in Roberto Roena. Dying his hair in new colors, playing percussion in his underwear and sporting a harness so he could “fly” around the stage of Madison Square Garden were some of the tricks that he used in order to stand out among the other groups in fashion.

Discography:
1970 Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound
1972 Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound III
1973 Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, Vol. 5
1976 Lucky 7 1977 Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, Vol. 9
1978 El Progreso 1978 La 8va. Maravilla
1982 Super Apollo 47:50
1993 Que Suerte He Tiendo de Nacer
1994 Poderoso
1997 Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound: Mi Música1997
2003 Regreso

 
By Lourd Vijay

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About the Author: Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in) in India.