Roberto Roena
Roberto Roena is a salsa music percussionist, orchestra leader, and dancer. Roena was one of the original members of El Gran Combo, and he later became the leader of his own band, “Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound,” arguably one of the best Latin salsa bands in Puerto Rico. Roena has also been a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, the showcase group for the Fania Records label, which has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s. Complementing the musicality of his salsa group was always the showmanship inherent in Roberto Roena. Dying his hair in new colors, playing percussion in his underwear “flying” around the stage of New York City’s Madison Square Garden were some of the tricks that he used to stand out among the other groups in vogue. Roberto always considered variety as the key to success, leading him to include in his musical repertoire everything from go-go to the romantic, the same in English as in Spanish. Given Roena has been performing for nearly 55 years with his orchestra, he’s obviously doing something very right.