Cortijo

The bomba and plena traditions of Puerto Rico's slums were given respectability through the music of Rafael Cortijo (born Rafel Cortijo Verdejo). Inheriting his band, which he renamed Cortijo y su Combo, when bandleader Mario Roman retired in 1954, Cortijo went on to become one of the Caribbean's most successful artists of the 1950s and '60s. His many hits include "El Bombon de Elena," "Quitate de la Via," "Pedro," "Maquinolandera," "El Negrito Bembon," "En un Solo Pie," "Tuntuneco," "Con la Punta del Pie," "Yo No Quiero Piedras en Mi Camino," and "Saoco." Cortijo's involveme...