Puerto Rico salsa giant Rafael Ithier, who led El Gran Combo for more than half a century, dies

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Rafael Ithier, a beloved musician and a founder of the legendary salsa band El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, whose hits have inspired Bad Bunny and other icons from the U.S. territory and beyond, has died. He was 99.

An attorney for the Ithier family, Víctor Rivera, confirmed the musician’s death to radio station WKAQ late Saturday. The cause of death wasn’t immediately clear.