Andy Montañez
| Andy Montañez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andrés Montañez |
| Also known as |
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| Born |
May 7, 1942 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
| Associated acts | |
Andrés Montañez (born May 7, 1942), better known as Andy Montañez, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.
Montañez is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce, San Juan. He is known by the nicknames "El Godfather de la Salsa" and "El Niño De Trastalleres". He is the first born out of 17 children.
Montañez first gained fame as a member of the internationally successful El Gran Combo group, with songs like "Hojas blancas" (White Leaves), "Un verano en N.Y." (A Summer in NY), "El barbero loco" (The Crazy Barber), "Julia", "Ponme el alcolado, Juana" (Rub Me With Alcohol), "Vagabundo" (Bum), "El Swing", etc. He stayed for approximately 15 years, producing 37 LPs. He left El Gran Combo to pursue a career with Venezuelan group La Dimension Latina creating a feud between the two groups. After leaving El Gran Combo, he enjoyed considerable success on an international scale with his own orchestra, touring Latin America and the United States several times. He represented Puerto Rico at the 1992 World's Fair in Seville, Spain.
In recent years he had teamed up with fellow salsa singer Ismael Miranda to produce some boleros and bohemian music. By 2005-06 he began creating a new blend between salsa and reggaeton, called salsaton, along with rappers like Daddy Yankee and Julio Voltio. In 2007 he filmed various television advertisements on nutrition for the Puerto Rico Department of Family Affairs (including one in which he sang a rhumba to a dancing carrot).
On November 2, 2006, Montañez won his first Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album, together with Pablo Milanés. Montañez was selected to form part of a benefit concert titled “Somos Haití”., where funds would be gathered to support Haiti after the 2008 hurricane season.
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