su Combo was composed of Rafael Ithier on piano, Cortijo on timbal, Roberto Roena on bongo, Martín Quiñones on congas, Eddie Pérez (the "female" voice of the choros) and as singer the sonero Ismael Rivera. In addition to Miguel Cruz on bass, Kiko Vélez and Mario Cora played trumpet. “Aside from its strikingly new musical sound and best-selling recordings, Cortijo y su Combo was also an act, an all-black performative presence on the cultural stage that had the effect of challenging many of the long-held values and prejudices of the national culture. Most significantly, they achieved immense sand startling visibility on television – staring frequently in memorable showcase appearances in popular show such as La Taberna India and El show del Mediodía.” Ismael Rivera recorded the following songs with Cortijo y su Combo: "El Bombón de Elena" "El Negro Bembón" "Juan José" "Besitos de Coco" "Palo Que Tú Me Das" "Quítate de la Vía Perico" "Oriza" "El Chivo de la Campana" "Maquinolandera" "El Yayo" "María Teresa" "Yo Soy del Campo" The orchestra virtually disbanded in 1962 when Ismael Rivera was arrested for drug possession in Panama. According to later reports, various band members concealed illegal drug shipments regularly since they were rarely intercepted at Customs; in this particular occasion an inspection was indeed made, and Rivera willingly took the bulk of the rap for the entire group (including Cortijo, who was deeply affected by Rivera's plea and regretted it through the rest of his life).Their friendship was so important to Rivera, that when Cortijo died, Rivera said he would no longer sing. Rafael Ithier and other bandmates went on to found Puerto Rico's salsa group, "El Gran Combo". In 1974, Coco Records reunited all the former members of "Cortijo y su Combo" orchestra for a one-time-only concert and a subsequent studio recording issued a few months afterwards. Rafael Cortijo became well known across Latin America. He attributed his success to the sound of his percussion, according to Cortijo, Afro-Caribbean music was known worldwide. A member of the Conjunto Monterrey, based in Monterrey, Mexico, he later toured with Daniel Santos' orchestra and worked on radio. Death Cortijo died of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 1982, at his sister Rosa Cortijo's apartment in the Luis Llorens Torres public housing project in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was buried at Cementerio San José in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was posthumously inducted into the