Papo Lucca y La Sonora Ponceña

Papo Lucca y La Sonora Ponceña Enrique Arsenio Lucca Quiñones, better known as Papo Lucca, born on April 10, 1946, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Papo Lucca ("Papo" is very common in Puerto Rico for "junior"), is a famous Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist, better known as Latin salsa and jazz pianist. He is co-founder along with his father, Enrique "Quique" Lucca Caraballo, of the famous band of Puerto Rico La Sonora Ponceña. He is a renowned arranger and one of the greatest virtuosos in his instrument. Papo's piano playing gives him the dynamics and a unique approach to salsa, Papo Lucca has taken his band, La Sonora Ponceña, to the forefront of Latin music. While Rubén Blades has called Lucca, "the best pianist in the world," Cuban pianist Rubén González explained, "of pianists who are not Cubans, he is one of the most admired." Lucca has been involved with music for most of his life. A native of Ponce, a small town on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, he began studying at the Free School of Music City at the age of six. In addition to being a student of the solfeggio, he studied piano, clarinet, saxophone and musical theory. A month later he enrolled in school. Lucca at the same time studied privately with the pianist Ramon Fernandez. With the breath of his father, Lucca advanced quickly. It begins to play with the Sonora Porcena at the age of eight years. He made his first record debut three years later, when the group of singers accompanied bolero Felipe Rodríguez and Davilita on his album "Al Compas De Las Sonoras". At the age of fourteen, Lucca began to integrate "officially" La Sonora Ponceña. Throughout the 1950s, Lucca remained active as a musician. In addition to playing the piano alone in a television program presented by Ruth Fernandez, who recorded with Obdulio Morales, Orquesta Panamericana, and Machito. Despite her busy schedule, Lucca found time to continue his formal studies. After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, he studied at the Conservatory of Music. His first opportunity to showcase his talents was in 1976, when he co-produced the sonorous Ponceña album "The Music Conquest" with Louie Ramirez and two years later, the group's album "Explorando" was produced on its own. In 1976, he replaced pianist Larry Harlow in Fania All-Stars. He continued to be part of this group until the middle of the 1990s.

Lucca reached his highest position as a musician in 1979. Along with La Sonora Porceña, he collaborated with La Reina, Celia Cruz on an album "La Ceiba", and appeared with Celia in a television documentary called "Salsa". The same year, he performed on an album "Habana Jam", along with Fania All-Stars, which was recorded during a concert in Cuba. Lucca also recorded a soloist album "Latin Jazz" in 1993. - Wikipedia

La Sonora Ponceña has been around for the past 50 years delighting fans globally as well as in Puerto Rico. Their ability to transcend the listener to emotional levels while dancing or just listening is amazing. I've included five tracks which will get your juices flowing and cause you to tap into feelings you may have locked away.

Let's get you prepped and ready with the following tracks: