Tito Puente

Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. aka Tito Puente, one of the key figures of Salsa history. Tito Puente was born and raised in the Spanish Harlem, in New York City to a Puerto Rican family. His musical talent was already apparent at seven, so his mother signed him up for piano lessons. At age ten he switched to percussion inspired by the ever so popular Jazz genre of his time.

Photo credit: i.ytmig.com

Tito Puente’s career took off when he joined Machito’s band as a drummer. Shortly after, with WWII expanding, he was drafted into the Army and served in nine battles aboard an escort carrier. His service in the Navy provided him with the means for getting a formal education in the Juilliard School Of Music.
Over the 1950s and 60s Tito Puente played a key role in the Latin Music revolution that hit the clubs of New York. One of his most famous early cha-cha songs “Oye Cómo Va” is still widely played in Salsa clubs, more than 50 years after its first release and has been sung by many, including Celia Cruz and Carlos Santana. 

He has received many awards and countless recognition for his work, including the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from The Smithsonian in 1993 and following his death, he was also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Tito Puente was featured in iconic documentaries about Latin music and history, such as Calle 54 and the series of La Epoca.

Read more about Tito Puente here.