Ismael Rivera Y Sus Cachimbos - Controversia (1969)

Formed by Puerto Rican sonero Ismael “Maelo” Rivera after his mid-1960s split from Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera y Sus Cachimbos debuted in 1968 with pianist/arranger Javier Vázquez as musical director, forging a tougher, street-level salsa sound built around concise coros, bone-dry rhythm, and Ismael Rivera’s elastic soneo. Early releases such as De Colores (1968) and Controversia (1969) established the template, pairing brassy, no-frills arrangements with repertory that favored punch over extended solos. The group’s 1972 set Esto Fue lo Que Trajo el Barco marked a creative peak and the start of a classic run cut for Tico/Fania, with a core lineup that frequently included Vázquez on piano and his brother Raimundo on bass alongside horns and hand-drums drawn from New York’s Latin circuit. A year later, Ismael Rivera kept momentum with Vengo por la Maceta (1973), then delivered the widely celebrated Traigo de Todo (1974), whose tracklist features staples like “El Nazareno” and “Qué te pasa a ti.” Mid-1970s holiday and party-theme LPs (Feliz Navidad and Soy Feliz, both 1975) sustained the band’s profile before a refined late-period crest with De Todas Maneras Rosas (1977). The Cachimbos era culminated with Esto Sí Es lo Mío (1978), anchored by the Tite Curet Alonso anthem “Las Caras Lindas,” now one of Ismael Rivera’s signature recordings. After roughly eight years the group wound down as Ismael Rivera cycled into solo and reunion projects, but the Cachimbos catalogue endures as a concise, hard-swinging chapter in 1970s salsa.