Roberto Roena Vázquez (January 30, 1940 – September 23, 2021) was a Puerto Rican salsa music percussionist, orchestra leader, and dancer. Roena was one of the original members of Cortijo y su combo and later with El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. He later became the leader of his own band, "Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound",[1] widely considered one of the best Latin salsa bands in Puerto Rico. Roena has also been a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, a salsa supergroup that has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Roena
The former member of the Fania All Stars group “died in the arms of his two daughters," his family said.
By Nicole Acevedo
Legendary salsa musician Roberto Roena died Thursday night, a spokesman for his family confirmed Friday.
The Latino musician was 81.
Roena was best known for being one of the original members of Puerto Rico's renowned salsa orchestra "El Gran Combo," as well as the founding member of the “Cortijo y su Combo” orchestra and the "Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound" music group.
In 1970, he recorded his first album with Fania, the leading salsa music record label at the time, after joining the widely successful Fania All Stars orchestra, which showcased some of the label's most talented musicians.
Roberto Roena arrives at a benefit concert to honor the life and music of Tito Puente on April 21, 2003, at the Lincoln Center in New York City. Scott Gries / Getty Images
For decades, Roena captivated audiences with his bongó and other percussion instruments, as well as with his salsa dance moves.
Andrés Waldemar, singer of the “Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound” orchestra and a spokesman for the family, said in a statement that Roena "died in the arms of his two daughters Brenda and Gladys and Waldemar" after having started a multi-city tour in the United States last August.
"It has been a heavy blow to his children, grandchildren, friends and family in general. Roberto taught us many things, but he never prepared us for this," Waldemar stated in Spanish. "The world is shocked, there is a void and a mourning in the music world."
The family statement did not disclose the cause of death.
Roena was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in 1940. As a child, he performed with his brothers on the Puerto Rican television show "La Taberna India," where salsa orchestra leader Rafael Cortijo discovered him and recruited him to join his band in the late 1950s.
The “Cortijo y su Combo” band later became known as “El Gran Combo." Roena left the orchestra in 1969 and founded the “Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound,” which became known as one of the best salsa music bands in Puerto Rico, as well as among fans in the mainland United States and Latin America.
Waldemar said the family is working to arrange funeral services. The details will later be made public, he said.
"Roberto was a man of the people, he loved his people, and we will respect his will," he said. "Puerto Rico will have the opportunity to pay him respect by giving him the last goodbye and following all the health protocols established by the pandemic."
Nicole Acevedo
Nicole Acevedo is a reporter for NBC News Digital. She reports, writes and produces stories for NBC Latino and NBCNews.com.
