Origin 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 Carlos Luis Martínez 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".
Reorganization 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 album ''Hacheros Pa' Un Palo''. La Sonora Ponceña recorded exclusively for Inca Records (even after Fania Records bought/merged the label into their own company in 1972).
Retirements In 1974, singer
Humberto "Tito" Gómez left the band after 7 years and 6 recordings. Together with Joe Rodríguez and Mickey Ortíz, Humberto "Tito" Gómez formed
La Terrífica. Likewise, in 1977 Edgardo Morales, who played the
timbal left the band after 7 years and 7 recordings and joined
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. In 1978 singer Luis Guillermo "Luigui" Texidor left the band after 10 years and 10 recordings to join
Bobby Valentín's Orchestra. In 1982
trumpetist Humberto Godineaux left the band after 4 years and 6 recordings. Singer Yolanda Rivera also left the band after 7 years and 8 recordings. In 1985, singer Miguel Ortíz retired from the band after 11 years and 12 recordings. On 28 May 1986, the band lost singer Alberto "Toñito" Ledée in a car accident. In 1987, trumpetist Heriberto "Ayatollah" Santiago also retired having 7 years and 5 recordings to his credit. In July 1989, long-time bass player Antonio "Tato" Santaella retired after 21 recordings. Tato played without ever using any musical scores, and sang entirely "by ear". A year later, in 1990, another bass player, Efraín "Frao" Hernández retired from the band after 10 years and 7 recordings. In 1990, bongó player Angel Hernández also retired after 14 years and 13 recordings. In 1991, tumbadora player, Vicente "Pequeño Johnny" Rivera, retired after 16 years with the band. He had performed on 15 of the band's recordings. In 1993, long-time trumpeter Ramón "Tony El Cordovés" Rodríguez retired after 24 recordings. This was followed by the retirement of trumpeter Freddie Del Valle, who had played with the band for 6 years and had participated in 5 recordings.
Internationalization In 1993, the band played at the Magno Orchestra Festival in
Barranquilla, Colombia. The band was awarded the "
Congo de Oro" award, given to the best international band. And in October 1994, Sonora Ponceña celebrated its 40th anniversary with a festival at
Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in
Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The band would later also play at the
Madison Square Garden to bring its celebration to the
United States. In 1995, the band did a reunion recording with Luis Guillermo "Luigi" Texidor and Yolanda Rivera who had retired 19 and 14 years earlier, respectively. That same year, they sang in
Paris, France, and at the
Desfile de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Parade) in
Zaragoza, Spain. In 1996 the band played for the first time in Mexico at the
Boca del Río,
Veracruz, Mexico, carnival.
Anniversary concerts In 2000, Sonora Ponceña celebrated its 45th anniversary at the
Tito Puente Amphitheatre at the
Centro de Bellas Artes in
San Juan, Puerto Rico and at the
Teatro La Perla in
Ponce. They also played in
Caracas, Venezuela as part of this 45th anniversary celebration. In the years following 2000, La Sonora Ponceña participated in a large number of events throughout Puerto Rico, including
Fiestas Patronales, private parties, graduation parties, and corporate Christmas and holiday parties. In the following years, the band also made presentations in
Orlando,
Jacksonville,
Miami,
Washington, D.C.,
Connecticut,
Philadelphia,
Chicago,
New Jersey,
Panama,
Peru,
England,
Switzerland and
Italy. For its 50th anniversary (2004), the band played at
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The 12,000 spectators made the show a complete sellout on its presentation day, February 21. The show was broadcast via radio and television. ==Accolades==