Editing Roberto Roena (section)

== Early career ==
[[Image:Roberto Roena & Yun Yun.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Roberto Roena (left) and Puerto Rican Salsa DJ [[Yun Yun Echevarria]] at Radio Voz, Carolina, Puerto Rico (1980s)]]
Born in the Dulces Labios neighborhood of [[Mayagüez]], Roena took his first steps in the art of dance by staging dance routines with his brother Cuqui at his hometown. When Roberto was nine years old, his family settled in Santurce, where the brothers continued to refine their mambo and cha-cha-chá routines, delighting their public in talent contests. This led to their contract of weekly performances on the television program “La Taberna India” on [[WKAQ-TV]]. During the broadcasts, percussionist [[Rafael Cortijo]] saw Roena in action. Roena, aside from being a [[Salsa dance|dancer]], was a talented at playing percussion conga drum. Rafael Cortijo took him under his wing and taught him how to play bongos, later to become the bongo player for his band. He also played  occasional baseball.