Cocoband

One Of The Premier Merengue Acts Of The Early To Mid-'90s Pochy Y Su Cocoband Were A Group From The Dominican Republic Led By Alfonso "Pochi" Vásquez. The Group Recorded Roughly A Dozen Albums Over A Ten-Year Period For The Renowned Kubaney Label And Billed Themselves Under A Variety Of Names -- Originally Just Cocoband Then Pochi Y Su Cocoband Or Pochy Y Su Cocoband Also Los Cocotuces. Founded In 1988 By Vásquez The Original Cocoband Were Notably Also Comprised Of Kinito Méndez And Bobby Rafael. Along With Vásquez Méndez -- Who Would Split From The Cocoband During The Early '90s And Find Success Elsewhere With Rikarena And Rokabanda Plus As A Solo Artist -- Wrote Many Of The Group's Songs. The Cocoband Made Their Full-Length Album Debut On Kubaney With Cocoband 1989 Followed By Numerous Other Albums Including La Faldita 1990 Llegaron Los Cocotuces 1991 Pero Con Coco! 1991 El Arrollador 1992 Canciones Cocomanticas 1993 La Coco Es La Coco 1994 El Hombre Llegó Parao 1995 Temible 1995 And El Ombliguito 1996 . In Addition Kubaney Compiled A Few Greatest-Hits Collections Grandes Exitos De La Cocoband Vol. 1 1994 Grandes Exitos De La Cocoband Vol. 2 1994 And The Double-Disc Coco Mixes 1998 . By The Time Of The Latter Collection -- A Compilation Of Extended Merenhouse Remixes Reflecting The Changing Times -- Vásquez Had Left Kubaney And Associated Himself With A New Label Fonovisa Records. Changing His Billing From Pochy Y Su Cocoband To Pochy Familia Y Su Cocoband He Released A Few Albums That Found Him Moving Away From Purely Merengue And Adopting Other Tropical Styles Such As Salsa And Bachata Ponle Sazon 1998 Tu Sabes...No Te Hagas 1999 And Con Más Sabor A Coco 2001 . This Trio Of Fonovisa Releases Marked A Downturn In Popularity For Vásquez And After A One-Off Independent Release Pochy Familia Y Su Cocoband 2004 He Essentially Entered A State Of Retirement. A Few Years Later The Label Emusica Purchased The Kubaney Back Catalog And Reissued Some Of The Best Pochy Y Su Cocoband Recordings Of The Early '90s There Were Two Compilations In 2007 -- The Single-Disc Coco De Oro And The Double-Disc A Man And His Music...¡Pero Con Coco! -- Plus A Few Select Albums. Then In 2008 Vásquez Reunited With Original Cocoband Members Kinito Méndez And Bobby Rafael For A 20th Anniversary Celebration Performance At The United Palace In New York City. read less