Salsa orchestra from Puerto Rico. The legendary Puerto Rican band popularly known as El Gran Combo played their first gig in San Juan in 1962 and soon became the island's most popular salsa group. While many bands formed and dissolved during the 1960s and 1970s, El Gran Combo had unusual staying power. Throughout the next several decades, the band's style altered and evolved to fit Latin dance-music trends, from boogaloo and merengue to tango and bomba.