Legendary bandleader and percussionist Tito Puente has been one of the most innovative and influential figures in American Latin music and jazz for over 60 years, according to CNET. Tito Puente, often referred to by his nickname “El Rey (The King)”, is credited with popularizing the mambo – a Cuban dance music that combines swing and Cuban music with seductive human rhythm. To highlight Puente’s contribution to Spanish culture,Google on Tuesday will unveil an animated doodle depicting the percussionist’s vibrant and charismatic style of performance over the decades.
The graffiti also marks the first anniversary of the unveiling of the Tito Puente monument in East Harlem.
Every year from September 15 to October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the culture and contributions of Hispanics. In previous years, Google has also honored Puerto Rican civil rights pioneer Felicitas Mendez, Mexican-American botanist Ynes Mexía, and baseball guru and humanitarian Roberto Clemente.
Tuesday’s animated doodle unfolded with scenes of a young Puente playing drums on a pan in his native Spain’s Harlem district in the 1920s and 1930s. He later joined the U.S. Navy in World War II, during which he fought in nine campaigns before retiring. Doodle continues to showcase Puente’s nearly uninterrupted touring over the decades, often including 200 to 300 shows a year.
Puente was also a terrific artist in the studio, recording at least 119 albums between 1949 and 2000, including the mambo crossover Abaniquito that made Puente a star. But he is perhaps best known for his 1962 classic “Oye Como Va,” a Latin jazz piece that reached even greater prominence when it was recorded by rock band Santana in 1970. Puente also portrayed himself in the film “The Mambo Kings,” a musical about two brothers fleeing Cuba for New York.
Puente received dozens of honors and awards, including five Grammys during his lifetime, and a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in 2003. He has also received the Smithsonian National Museum’s Medal of Honor and Lifetime Achievement Award, the Art Medal from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Eubie Blake Award from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Spanish Heritage Arts Council Award, among others.
Puente died in 2000 at the age of 77 after complications from open heart surgery.