Tito Puente: the King of Timbales and his musical legacy

Hispanic Heritage Month has had all kinds of celebrations, and of course the world’s leading search engine, Google, has kept this in mind. Recently, the search engine presented a Doodle commemorating the day that the monument to Tito Puente was inaugurated in East Harlem, New York, for his cultural contribution.

Google did so with a very entertaining drawing of the artist of Puerto Rican descent, made by cartoonist Carlos Aponte, which also included an animated video with music that aimed to highlight the figure of one of the most important musicians and percussionists in the history of the United States. 

Who was Tito Puente?

Although music lovers surely already know who he was, the Google Doodle is an excellent opportunity to go over a little about the history, life and work of this great artist of Latin origin: Ernesto Antonio Puente. Better known by his nickname “Tito,” he was born in New York in 1923. He was a composer, percussionist and had great musical training throughout his career.

Tito Puente began in the world of music with the mambo and over time he positioned himself as one of the greatest figures of the genre. Later, he developed an interesting fusion of jazz and West Indian rhythms, which had a great influence on what would later be his contribution to salsa.

Also known as the “King of the Timbales,” he was part of the music industry for more than five decades, during which he released nearly 200 albums. Over time, Puente was also baptized  “The King of Music,” precisely because of his deep dive into Latin musical genres, both in the United States and in different cities around the world. This was because, from a young age, he had grown up listening to Puerto Rican and Cuban music.

The New York artist became the drummer for groups such as Happy Boys and Federico Pagani’s Machito’s Orchestra. But he was also part of the Navy during World War II. During those years, he led the ship’s band, playing the alto saxophone along with ten other instruments as well. After the war ended in 1945, Tito Puente went on to graduate from the Juilliard School of Music.

In 1948 he formed his own band called the Tito Puente Orchestra, combining big band instrumentation with jazz harmony and Afro-Cuban music. The success was immediate. His talent with the timbales became recognized in the country and his reputation as “The King of Latin music” began to grow along with his presentations in different public places. 

One of his biggest hits was “Kan Kan,” his first professional recording and the one that Google chose as the soundtrack for the Doodle on October 11th, which we mentioned at the beginning. Going beyond the great talent of “El Rey de los Timbales,” Puente broadened his musical spectrum and explored other Latin music genres such as boogaloo, pachanga and salsa.

His contribution to Latino culture in the United States

Although Tito Puente transcended into stardom because of his music, records and songs, he also had a strong public profile. The composer worked hard and diligently to create endless opportunities aimed at helping the Latino community living in the United States. For 20 years, he also granted scholarships that would support musicians.

The “King of Timbales” suffered an acute myocardial infarction and passed away on May 31st, 2000, at the age of 77 and in the same city where he was born and forged his great musical legacy: New York. After his physical departure, he received posthumous recognition at the Latin Grammy Awards, and the Harlem street where he was born, E. 110th Street, was named Tito Puente Way in honor of the musician.