 The band was founded in 1942 by singer Ninón Mondéjar with Alex Sosa (piano), Enrique Jorrín, Antonio Sánchez, and Félix Reina (violins), Juan Ramos (flute) and others.Mondéjar and Sosa went to Mexico, then later revived Orquesta América in California.Success, in Cuba, came in 1953 with Orquesta America's recording of Jorrín's "La engañadora."