In the New York salsa scene in the early 1970s, the group began with Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez Jr. and four of Ray Barretto’s original band including Adalberto Santiago (who all left Barretto simultaneously to start Tipica 73 in 1972), and, after combining the conjunto percussive style (congas, timbales, and bongos) with a horn section, the band became one of the biggest stars of the salsa movement in the US.

[1] However, the band’s line-up ended up with an almost different cast by the start of the following decade, with several of the original members having left after differences in the late 1970s, regarding whether the band would continue to play tipica music, with Santiago and three others leaving to form Los Kimbos.[1] Rodriguez Jr was the only constant in the band, and he and remaining members split in 1982, but not without a tribute to the charanga style, the 1980 release Charangueando con la Tipica 73, which included standout versions of Tito Puente’s “A Donde Vas” and Cachao’s “Chanchullo”, among others. According to Greg Prato of All Music Guide Magazine, in 1995, Tipica 73 reunited for a successful concert in Puerto Rico, which led to a series of shows four years later.[5][6]