El Gran Combo comes to Boston as salsa nears crossroads
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Jerry Rivas, center, performing in 2021. Photo: Johnny Louis/Getty Images
When Jerry Rivas first joined El Gran Combo, he was called "el nene," or the kid, of the world-famous salsa band.
- Nearly 50 years later, he's coming to downtown Boston as the veteran of the group.
Why it matters: El Gran Combo has outlived Beatlemania, MTV's heyday and even the reportedly decades-long feud between singers Marc Anthony and La India.
- Rivas says the world-famous salsa band's longevity — and his own — are a lesson in perseverance and self-improvement.
What they're saying: "I could say that El Gran Combo is the best salsa band in the world. It isn't," he tells Axios, "… but I am certain that it is the best job in the world."
Catch up quick: El Gran Combo headlines the Ritmo y Sonido Block Party, this year's festival, on Saturday on Summer Street Plaza.
Flashback: For salsa lovers, it's the first time in over 30 years since El Gran Combo's concert on City Hall Plaza, which Jose Massó emceed.
- Rivas, who had joined in 1977 feeling like an impostor, has become a staple of the band.
- For that, he thanks the band's late founder, Rafael Ithier.
State of play: Boston's music scene has shifted over the years, but salsa's presence has spread from Berklee College and MIT to salsa dancing meetups and the annual Boston Salsa Festival, Massó says.
- Worldwide, salsa streams on Spotify increased 140% in 2024, largely thanks to Gen Z listeners.
Part of that may stem from artists sampling or remixing salsa classics in reggaeton or other popular genres, like Bad Bunny's 2025 single "Nuevayol" sampling El Gran Combo's "Un Verano En Nueva York."
- That song has likely led younger listeners to discover El Gran Combo, if they weren't already familiar, Rivas says, "but that song is part of our repertoire," Rivas says. "We have to play it always."
Zoom in: Rivas has seen the longevity of salsa firsthand, from the arrival of his bandmate, Berklee alumnus Julito Alvarado, to his sons' careers.
- Gerardo Rivas is a percussionist, and Jerry Jr. is principal trombonist in the Puerto Rican Symphony Orchestra.
- His grandson, Gerardo Gabriel, has become known as a prodigious timbales player, performing with El Gran Combo and the Colombian salsa ensemble Grupo Niche last year.
What we're watching: Rivas worries about the future of salsa as his generation of pioneers starts to die and the use of AI gains popularity, but not about lack of talent.
- "We know we are in the worst time in the music industry, but there's a lot of talent, whether it's in Puerto Rico or in the countries that have adopted salsa," Rivas says.
- "These young people that are playing really well… they need that support," he added, noting how Ithier supported him.