Sonora Ponceña
| La Sonora Ponceña | |
|---|---|
La Sonora Ponceña
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | Salsa |
| Occupation(s) | Band |
| Years active | 1954-present |
| Website | http://www.sonoraponcena.net |
| Members |
Musical Director and Pianist: Papo Lucca |
| Past members | Singer: Tito Gómez |
| Notable instruments | |
| trumpet, piano | |
Musical Director and Pianist: Papo Lucca
Founder and Director: Enrique "Quique" Lucca Caraballo
Singers: Edwin Rosas, Daniel Dávila, Héctor L. Pérez & Fernando L. Colón
Trumpets: Delfín Pérez, Ricky Zayas, Mario Marcucci & Alfredo del Valle
Bass: Alexander Rosa
Conga: Wilfredo López
Bongó: Domingo Gutiérrez
La Sonora Ponceña is a Puerto Rican salsa band, founded in 1954 by Enrique "Quique" Lucca Caraballo. Today Quique's son, Papo Lucca, directs the band. The band has stayed active for a remarkable amount of time, recording dozens of albums, including a 55th anniversary album. Singers included Tito Gómez.
The history of La Sonora Ponceña is the history of Quique Lucca (December 12, 1912 – October 9, 2016), who was born in Yauco, Puerto Rico. In 1928, when he was 16 years old, his family moved to Ponce, Puerto Rico and Quique started to work as an auto mechanic and started playing the guitar. In 1932 he met Angélica Quiñones, the future mother of his children, Zulma, Papo and Wanda. In 1944 Quique put together a band called "El Conjunto Internacional", including three instrumentalists: tumbadora, bongó, vocalist and Quique Lucca at the guitar and second voice. Later, Antonio 'Tato' Santaella joined, playing the bongó. On 10 April 1946, Enrique Lucca Jr. ("Papo") was born; he would later become the musical director of "La Sonora". In fact, in 1951, Papo surprised his father and the other members of the "Internacional" band when, at only 5 years old, he joined a band practice and started playing the tumbadora on Tito Puente's "Ran Kan Kan".
After the band had been inactive for a year, Quique re-established it in 1954 and renamed it "Conjunto Sonora Ponceña". His childhood friend Antonio "Tato" Santaella played bajo de cajón. On 20 April of that year the band played at its first official dance. In 1956, Vicentivo Morales, joined the band as its first pianist. Later that year, Quique brought young Papo into the band as a pianist. In November 1957, Papo made its official debut during a dance on the northern shore of the Island. In 1958, La Sonora Ponceña recorded its first 78 RPM with Avelino Muñoz as pianist. The 78 RPM contained No puede Ser on one side and Tan Linda que Era on the reverse side. Towards the end of 1958, the band went into recording mode and included 12-year-old Papo Lucca. The band included its first official vocalist Charlie Martínez. Later on, vocalists Felipe and Davilita would also record bolero-mambo themes such as Noche de Locura. In September 1960, the group played in New York City. The group's main attraction was its 12-year-old pianist, Papo Lucca. In 1968 the group started its official recordings on 33 RPM with the song Hacheros Pa' Un Palo.
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Wikipedia