Ismael Miranda is one of Puerto Rican "Salsa"'s best soneros (singers) over the past 40 years. 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 "Rumbon Melon". He created such a good impression on bandleader Larry Harlow, that he was hired as Larry's lead singer. That same year Miranda and Harlow co-authored "El Exigente" (The Demanding), set to the rhythm of the Latin Boogaloo craze of the time.