Manuel Fernando «Nando» Galán (22 June 1940, La Vega – 12 December 2022, New York) was a Dominican saxophonist, composer, arranger and orchestra leader of the merengue golden age — and, for much of his life, a practicing dentist. Born in La Vega, he later settled in Santo Domingo and finally in the United States. He ran his own label, Galan Records, and built his orchestra the old way: his own arrangements, a brass-driven sound with his saxophone up front, and a shop window for young singers.

Career

Singers Omar Demorizi, Miguel Ángel and Alex Serrano fronted his first production, and in 1985 the Melvin Rafael song «Faltaste a la cita» — “you missed the date” — made him famous; the LP followed in 1986. His second album, «Besitos y Espinita», launched his defining voice, Corina Familia, as lead singer, with Rafael «Raffy» Cabrera — later the father of Ala Jaza — as male lead and a young Elvis Montilla singing «No te odiaré» and «Luna» in the highest register in merengue. The late-eighties productions «Castígala» and «Papuchi» closed the run; when Corina Familia left in 1989, the orchestra's popularity faded with her.

Death

Galán died in a New York hospital on 12 December 2022, aged 82, of a malignant brain tumor — his death was officially confirmed by his family after days of premature reports his son Johnny had publicly denied. His remains were taken home to La Vega for their final resting place. He is survived in music by his son Johnny Galán and his granddaughter, singer Jessica Galán.

Legacy

Nando Galán was one of the golden age's builder-bandleaders: a dentist who moonlighted as a saxophonist-label owner and left behind a compact catalog — «Faltaste a la cita» above all — and a generation of singers who passed through his front line, from Corina Familia to Elvis Montilla to Raffy Cabrera. His orchestra is remembered as a launching pad with a saxophone at its center.