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Rafael Ithier (born 1926 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Salsa musician and the creator of the highly successful orchestra, "El Gran Combo". Ithier was born in the large San Juan area known as "Rio Piedras".
Ithier showed a passion for music since he was very young. His father, Nicolas Ithier, had played music together with Rafael Hernandez, another of Puerto Rico's music legends.
Rafael Ithier became an expert guitarist in the bolero genre, and he was a member of the Tito Henriquez group, "Taone". His sister Eesperanza later inspired him to learn how to play the piano.
Ithier and his namesake, Rafael Cortijo, had known each other and formed a friendship since they were little; rumors of animosity would later surface but they both denied it, saying they considered themselves to be "like brothers". Ithier, who is a prominent Black Puerto Rican, joined Cortijo's orchestra, "El Combo", during the 1950s. Previous to that, he had been in a New York group named the "Borinqueneers Mambo Boys".
In 1962, Ithier formed "El Gran Combo", becoming the orchestra's leader. He has held that position for over forty years, and he continues to tour with the group, as of 2004.
In 1970, Ithier had a near death experience, as he was about to board the Dominicana Airlines DC-9 that crashed off the Caribbean, but one of "El Gran Combo"s members felt a bad sensation about boarding that flight, and Ithier and the rest of the group would be stranded at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, fact that saved his life and the lives of his fellow Gran Combo group mates.
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