[1][2] Domingo Cruz was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 3 July 1864.

[3] Cocolía (Spanish for little crab) played the saxhorn with "La Lira Ponceña" orchestra (by 1919 also known as the Ponce Symphony Orchestra[4]) under the baton of Ponce's renowned composer Juan Morel Campos.

Famous for his danceable tunes, Cocolía was also a music teacher and director of the Firefighters' Band, the Banda Municipal de Ponce.

Upon the death of Juan Morel Campos, Cruz became the director of the Ponce Municipal Band.

For many years, Cocolia's statue stood in front of the Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos, which took over the space previously occupied by the downtown Ponce fire station, next to Teatro La Perla.