Orquesta Dicupé

Edil Dicupé.  I was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and raised in Lares until the age of eight.  When I was nine, my parents  Froilan Dicupé and Ana Perez Dicupé brought me to New York City to go to school and study here.  At twelve, I became a member of the P.A.L. center.  There I joined a drum group called "The Gua-Guancheros" where I learned to play congas.  My instructor was Ted Holiday, who later played the congas on my first record with Fania.  

My brother Freddy was a great influence in my trumpet playing, when he played in clubs he always invited me to sit in with the band, and play the trumpet.  Later on, I continued my studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, taking up the trumpet.  At twenty, I graduated and began my professional musical career with the Lebron Brothers, as a trumpet player. 

In 1970, the Orquesta Dicupé was born.  In our travels, Larry Harlow, producer, and Jerry Massucci, CEO, of Fania Records heard the band peforming and discussions began for production with Fania.  In 1973 & 1974, the albums "Orquesta Dicupé" and "Aquí Llegamos" hit the market, with such legends on vocals as Adalberto Santiago, Ismael Miranda, Ismael Quintana, Roberto Torres and Junior Gonzales in coro.

Both albums, became very popular, and this created the opportunity for the band to play in classic clubs such as The Cheetah, Corso, Caborojeno, La Mancha, Casino 14, and Marion Manor. In time the DJ era started, so there were not enough work for the bands.  This led me to dissolve the band for a while.  However, in 1990, I managed to produce my own first CD "Que Bonito Es Amar" which has not yet been released.

Through the years, I've been in and out of the music world. Nevertheless, thanks to the internet I've recently gotten a lot of encouragement from people of different parts of the world, as they send me e-mails praising the band and the music.  I've even received videos of salsa dancers performing to the sounds of Orquesta Dicupe.  This has inspired me to introduce the sounds of Orquesta Dicupe to the new generation. 

BAND THEN....

Edil Dicupé - Trumpet

Freddy Dicupé - Trumpet

Luis Esquilin - Piano

Mike Amitin - Bass

Johnny Vasquez - Lead Vocal

 Frank Javier Velez - Lead Vocal

Ted Holiday - Conga

Mario Libran - Bongos

Johnny Almendra - Timbales

band now....

Edil Dicupé - Trumpet

Christopher  Sanchez - Trumpet

Angel Lebron - Trombone

Ray Fuentes - Piano

Marcos Gonzalez - Bass

Anibal Dicupé - Lead Vocal

Desiree Dicupé - Coro

Harry Adorno - Timbales

Willie Romero - Conga

Luis Hernandez - Bongos