Early Years
Vega was born in the town of Salinas, Puerto Rico where he received his primary education. He was born into a family of musicians and therefore learned how to play the bongos and conga at an early age. In 1967, when he was 10 years old, he played the conga for a kids band called "La Prefeida". His family moved to New York City in 1968. In New York, Vega continued to go to school. In his free time however, he played the conga for various local Latin rock bands including "City Trash".
Latin music was very popular in New York during the 1970s and while Vega played the conga for Latin rock bands, he started to become more and more interested in the afroantillano style of music better known as salsa. He listened to and was influenced by Ismael Rivera, Rafael Cortijo, Rafael Ithier and El Gran Combo.
Read more about this topic: Tony Vega
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