Conjunto Casino de Uruguay is a long-running Montevideo tropical orchestra that began on September 13, 1968, as part of the first wave of Uruguayan groups to give Caribbean styles a local identity. Under the direction of trumpeter Ernesto Negrín, the band built a repertoire that moved comfortably between plena, cumbia, salsa, and merengue, and it stood out early for bringing a female lead voice into the format—most notably Marihel Barboza, who joined in 1984 and became central to several of the group’s best-known years. Across the 1970s and 1980s, Conjunto Casino became a staple of Uruguay’s dancehall circuit, with releases such as La Salsa Nostra (1979) reflecting their salsa-facing side and later compilations like El Suceso Bailable (Grandes Exitos) (1998) keeping their biggest stage favorites in circulation. In the 2010s, the group’s legacy was often framed through its hit-heavy, party-ready approach—anchored by crowd staples like “Azuquita Pal Café”—while continuing to perform as a working orchestra. In the 2020s, Conjunto Casino leaned into the classic medley tradition of stitching multiple themes into one continuous dance sequence, a style showcased in the La Historia Interminable series (2022), including the signature medley “Enganchados: Cuba y Puerto Rico / Plena en San Juan,” and followed by later sets like Conjunto Casino (2023) and Plenas Inolvidables #2 (2023) that kept their plena-driven identity front and center.
