Ismael Miranda, also known as ''El Niño Bonito de la Salsa'' ("The Pretty Boy of Salsa") (born February 20, 1950) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.

Early years

Miranda (birth name: Ismael Miranda Carrero) was born in Aguada, Puerto Rico and grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on East 13th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's East Village. He wanted to become a musician as a child. His musical inclination led him to form two different juvenile groups, "The 4J's and Little Junior" and "The Class Mates" by the time he was eleven years old. He sang and played conga for the group and they appeared on Jerry Lewis's Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Miranda also grew up and played in his first bands with Jazz percussionist Orlando "Q" Rodriguez and piano player Mark Dimond.

First recording

In 1967, when Miranda was 17 years old, he made his recording debut with the song "''Let's Ball''" with Joey Pastrana and had his first "hit" with "''Rumbón Melón''". He was hired as

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Larry Harlow's lead singer. That same year Miranda and Harlow co-authored "''El Exigente''" ("The Demanding One"), set to the rhythm of Latin Boogaloo.

The Fania All Stars

In 1969, Miranda joined the Fania All Stars and went with the band on tour to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. In 1973, he formed his own band called "Orquesta Revelación" and recorded "''Así se compone un son''" under the Fania record label. He was then baptized as "El Niño Bonito de la Salsa" ('The Pretty Boy of Salsa"). During the 1970s, he continued to have more songs like "''Lupe, Lupe''", "''Señor Sereno''". In 1984, Miranda recorded an album for Fania with the Cuban conjunto Sonora Matancera. By 1988, he had planned to retire. However, he went on to establish his own record label "IM Records" and recorded several boleros with Andy Montañez. By 1992, he signed under the management of Chino Rodríguez in New York City, who negotiated with the late Jerry Masucci on the Fania All-Star Reunion of 1994.

Later years

The 2002 recording of one of Miranda's concerts received the recognition and acclaim of the National Foundation of Popular Culture of Puerto Rico. He also recorded a CD which contained songs composed by Mexican composer José Alfredo Jiménez in the salsa version. On September 27, 2003, Ismael Miranda performed at the Copacabana nightclub in

. He currently continues to perform and is now on a national tour. During January 23, 2021, Miranda was hospitalized in a Caguas hospital in Puerto Rico, after complaining of severe dizziness.

Discography

With Joey Pastrana & His Orchestra * Let's Ball (Cotique), 1967 With Larry Harlow (musician) / Orchestra Harlow * El Exigente ( Fania Records), 1967 * Presenta A Ismael Miranda ( Fania Records), 1968 * Me & My Monkey ( Fania Records), 1969 * Electric Harlow ( Fania Records), 1970 * Abran Paso! ( Fania Records), 1971 * Oportunidad ( Fania Records), 1972 * Tribute To Arsenio Rodríguez ( Fania Records), 1972 * Con Mi Viejo Amigo (With My Old Friend) ( Fania Records), 1976 * The Best of Orchestra Harlow & Ismael Miranda ( Fania Records), 1976 With ( Willie Colón) * Doble Energía ( Fania Records) 1980 With ( Sonora Matancera) * La Sonora y el Niño ( Fania Records) 1984 With His Orchestra * Así Se Compone Un Son (1973) * En Fa Menor (1974) * Este es... Ismael Miranda (1975) * No Voy al Festival (1977) * Sabor, Sentimiento, y Pueblo (1978) * La Clave del Sabor (1981) * The Master (1983) * Una Nueva Visión (1985) * Por el Buen Camino (1987) * Motivos de Mi Tierra (1987) * Felicitándote (1988) * La Mano Maestra (1989) * Hasta la Última Gota (1991) * Entre Sombras (1992) * Enamorado de Ti (1993) * El Sabor de Puerto Rico (1994) * Cantar o No Cantar with Junior Gonzalez (1995) * Al Son del Bolero with Andy Montañez (1996) * Con Buena Nota (1997) * Románticos de Nuevo with Andy Montañez (1997) * Con Alma de Niño (1998) * Son de Vieques (1999) * Vengo Con Todo (2001) * Tequila y Ron (2003) * Edición Especial (2005) * Con Sabor y Sentimiento (2007) * Buscando el Camino (2008) * De Regreso al Son (2009) * Aferrado a Ti (2011) * Son 45 (2014) Compilaciones * El Compositor Que Canta (1978) * Éxitos de los 50 Vol. 1 (1982) * Éxitos de los 50 Vol. 2 (1985) * ( Fania All-Stars) With Ismael Miranda (2000) * The Best (2001) * Live From (

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

) (2001) * 27 Años de Trayectoria (2002) * Pura Salsa (2006) * Pura Salsa Live (2007) * Romántico (2009) * Greatest Hits (2009) * Historia de la Salsa (2010) * La Herencia (2012)

References