Buckle up for a dose of Latin music and family fun! This episode of Your Ageless Musical Brain features Tito Puente Jr., the son of the salsa legend Tito Puente. Tito Jr. spills the tea on what it was like growing up with a famous musician dad, shares how he’s keeping his father’s music alive, and even explains why dancing is basically a workout for your brain. He also chats about using social media to connect with younger folks and keep the salsa party going strong. This episode is jam-packed with fun facts and makes you appreciate the power of music and dance. It’s like a mini-concert for your ears and a history lesson all rolled into one!
Website Links
- Tito Puente Jr. | Facebook
- Tito Puente Jr. | LinkedIn
- Tito Puente Jr. | AER Management
- Tito Puente Jr. | Twitter
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Mambo Mondays: Celebrating Tito Puente’s Legacy With Tito Puente Jr.
Welcome to Your Ageless Musical Brain podcast, Season 2. I’m your host Lucy Blanco. On this first episode, I have a very special guest born from music legend royalty. He lives his father’s musical iconic legacy in his euphoric, energetic, and spicy performances. In his performances, he mirrors the passion that he has for keeping his father’s memory and his impact on Latin American music, Latin jazz, and Afro-Cuban beats very much alive. My guest continues to keep fast-paced dance, salsa music, and our Latin culture vibrant and influential just like his father’s legacy. Here to tell us more about the King of Mambo and the King of Latin American music is my very special guest, Tito Puente Jr. Tito, it’s an honor to have you on the show.
Lucy, thank you for having me. I appreciate your time in celebrating the life and legacy of my late father, El Rey Del Timbal, Tito Puente.
I could see that from your T-shirt. You live it. Even from what you wear. That is so beautiful. This past weekend, you celebrated your father’s legacy of 101 years. It’s very symbolic of his birthday. You celebrate and make his spirit live on through the love of his music. That’s a very loyal and unique quality that you have. Tell me what happened. Thank you.
Keep His Father’s Legacy Alive
I appreciate that. It’s a big shoe to fill. He passed away 24 years ago. We did celebrate his 100 and first birthday, born April 20th, 1923, Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. aka Tito Puente. Those of you who are tuning in might not know that my father’s name was Ernest Puente. Not Tito. His stage name, he’s known as Tito. That comes from my grandmother. It comes from my grandmother, Ercilia Ortiz. In the box, about growing up in New York City and Spanish Harlem, my father was born on 110th Street. He lived on the third floor.
Back then, there was no social media or cell phones or anything like that. Abuela, as we kindly called her. Grandma would yell out the window, “Ernetito.” My dad got the nickname from his friends, Tito, as something derivative and something small in Spanish, Poquito, Chiquito, and Ernetito. That’s where he got his nickname Tito.
Sweet too and the sweetness. I understand that your father showed signs of this talent in the kitchen as a little boy. Tell us the story.
He showed signs of talent at a very early age. My grandmother, Ercilia, used to take a quarter from my grandfather and she would send my father to go play piano. That’s where the piano lessons were. Nothing but a quarter back then. This is maybe 1929s or 1930s. My father was very young at the time. Maybe 7 or 8 years old. He was a child prodigy, but he was a dancer first.
He danced. He played mambo music and won dance contests around the neighborhood in Spanish Harlem, New York, with my aunt. They used to win all the contests and win $50 here and $20 there. He was a very wonderful dancer. Tito Puente was a dancer first and then became a child prodigy of music. Piano percussion, that’s what he got himself involved with at a very early age.
The neighbors complained about the banging of the pots and pans. That was funny.
They said, “Put that kid in school.” He was banging up pots and pans all the time. He was running around. He’s a very hyperactive child as far as music. He would bang up the walls of the actual building that he lived in. They had stairs. There were no elevators back then. My dad told me that he would be banging on things and his mother said, “Let’s put him into training into learning on how to learn syncopated rhythms and piano.” That’s one of the greatest percussive instruments out there.
As far back as you can remember, what were those moments that impacted and wowed you? I’m sure there were many, but as far back as you can remember where you made the choice, “This is the life I’m going to lead.”
Being his son, I always recognized the fact that he was a brilliant genius when it came to composition and arranging music. I would see that from my own eyes being a young child myself in the ‘70s and the ‘80s and seeing how he worked very diligently on the piano in writing and composing music throughout his entire career from when I was alive.
I can only imagine his upbringing but it must have been very tumultuous for him as he was a veteran of the United States of World War II and a Navy soldier as well, and just being young. My recollection of him working a lot and being somewhat absent in some aspects of it was because he worked on the road. My father was a performer. He worked all the way till his passing in 2000. Being young and not having that father figure there at the time when I was young was something that I remember the most and my sister too as we went through our early childhood years.
As I got older, I started realizing that I wanted to spend more time with him. My mother did too because she was always watching us. She said, “Why don’t you go on the road and take your father around?” At the ripe old age of 14, 15, and 16 years old, during the summertime, I would go with my father and set up his drums. I learned more about him on his professionalism. I knew him as Tito Puente, the father, and then I learned more about him as Tito Puente the professional musician. It was a great experience for me.
Current Projects And Contributions
What about Arts Garage? Tell us about Arts Garage because I know that’s very important for you. Also, as a member of Playing for Change. I know it’s very important nowadays for many younger generations who are getting depressed. The difference in the lives of younger generations, you may tell us about that.
Arts Garage is a wonderful venue in Delray Beach, Florida. I’ve been doing this for about seven years now. I’m celebrating my 53rd birthday here. I’m performing there on May 31st and June 1st. My birthday falls on the second, but I’ll be celebrating my weekend. It is the anniversary of my father’s passing on May 31st as well as the 24th year of his passing. Not only will I be celebrating my birthday but also not a tribute, but more of a celebration of his life as we celebrate Arts Garage in Delray Beach.
It’s a wonderful nonprofit where they bring all types of different styles and genres of music. Playing for Change is a fundraising effort with many musicians including my favorite Carlos Santana where we remade Oye Como Va along with Becky G and many other artists. Playing for Change is one of those organizations that brings global awareness to music.
Playing for Change is one of those organizations that really brings global awareness to music.
What it does is it makes changes in different parts of the world, especially in Africa and poverty-stricken countries. They donate to local charities. I’m proud to be a part of that whole Playing for Change. There are some very major artists. Sheila E., my friend, is participating in Playing for Change as well. You can go to PlayingForChange.org and see more about the great contributions that they have given to many different countries around the world and music.
Music is built for change. Music is built for the mind and the soul. It brings people together. It’s very healthy for you, salsa dancing and mambo dancing. I try to encourage everybody to listen to Tito Puente or when you leave your homes, tell Alexa to play some Tito Puente music or when you come back home, it won’t be one song repeated. Tito Puente is very energetic. It’s full of life. It’s very good for your cardiovascular.
I try to tell kids to listen to Tito’s music. There are health benefits to listening to Tito Puente’s music and what my father left on this planet before his untimely passing. It’s a great opportunity for young kids who are tuning in to this episode. Listen to Tito Puente. Google his name and learn a little bit more about the history of why they called him the King of Latin music.
It has also been proven through EEG scans and neuroscience. Many years ago, we go back 50 years ago, science didn’t pay attention to how beneficial dance music and the arts, especially dance drumming. That’s even newer in the realm of science. Now, it’s been proven through EEG scans how beneficial drumming is. A lot of people, when you say good morning, I notice the reaction of some people. They’re like, “What’s so good about it? It’s Monday.” Not on your calendar. What happens on Mondays, Tito?
I always celebrate Mambo Monday. There are 52 Mondays a year. I know that’s the day that everybody is dreading going back to work. I always encourage everybody with my social media posts with the Mambo Monday and inspirational quotes or inspirational photos and show you that Mondays are not as bad as we always think they are.
I always encourage people to listen to mambo music and listen to the music of Tito Puente on Monday morning to keep them awake. I try to do that in my car when I’m driving my kids to school. They get turned off by it but I push it in their ears. They understand now that they’ll always remember how Mambo Mondays were represented by Tito Puente and Tito Puente Jr. Listen or watch some Puente music every Monday. That way, you can be tuned in. It inspires people too. It inspires people to get through their workday with mambo music.
Do you know what it is too? It’s that energy that we keep inside. I’m a firm believer in connecting to our senses. Not allowing the external world to be the ones to guide us into how our lives are going to be, but connecting to our inner senses. That energy that we keep inside, especially when we sing, dance, and move. That’s what the show promotes. It’s momentum. I love momentum.
Even at my age, I can tell you that I get very excited when I see people dancing, skydiving, and doing all these things that are meant to be in a lot of older generations of Latin America. In their minds, “That’s what is appropriate. Only age-appropriate for when you’re young.” That’s not how you and I think. We think differently. We already know that age has a stigma attached to it, an age-appropriate mentality. What do you say to younger generations who are always on their phone or a lot of times, more on their phone than they are and activities such as these, and also, older generations who think they’re too old to dance and sing?
It’s funny that you mentioned that because I connect a lot because I have teenagers. I’ll understand their language and we were teenagers at one time too, so we get it. I’m Generation X, so I’m a little bit different, but I understand the new generation now. The Millennials, how they think and they are very involved in social media, computers, streaming platforms, and things of that nature. We have to reconnect with them in those aspects.
The new generation is very involved in social media, streaming platforms, and things of that nature. We have to reconnect with them in those aspects.
How do we get them motivated? We show them, old cats as we call ourselves now. I don’t look at it like that because if you take a look at Jennifer Lopez, she’s kicking butt. I had a doctor tell me, “You look very young for your age.” I’m going to be 53. I have no white hair like Tito Puente. My father’s age had a full head of white hair. I’m doing pretty good. I’m drinking a lot of water. We’re very health conscious now about what we put in our bodies. We live longer. Men live longer now, especially Hispanic men. We’re learning more about heart disease and how to avoid it and things that are causing cancer carcinogens.
We’re eating better. We’re learning a lot more about movement and the intake of different foods, grains, salts, and things of that nature. We have to monitor them. I feel like I’m healthier and I feel more driven to bring this music and all that I know about my wisdom to the next generation. Puente, the last name. Puente means bridge in Spanish. My father bridge five generations of musicians and people together, starting from the 1940s throughout his whole entire career throughout the Palladium era and those great songs like Oye Como Va and all those great songs that he had throughout generation after generation learned about movement, dancing, mambo music, and salsa, as we call it today.
I continue to do that and I’m trying to bridge now the younger generation to the music of Tito Puente. A kid who is twenty years old never got to see Puente or understand who he was. It’s up to me to bring that knowledge and wisdom to them so they can be inspired for the new generation. I’m hopeful that my son, Tito Puente III, can inspire the next wave of Latin percussion players.
I’m sure he will. Also, throughout the world. Now, we have salsa radio stations in different countries. In London, we have that. We have salsa dance classes in Switzerland. That was unheard of 50 years ago or 40 years ago. People are getting the idea of how contagious our music is and our culture. Not only that but it’s also for brain health. We want to be independent. We want to grow older and be independent. Not feel pain here and pain there. Dance so that you don’t feel the pain. I love it, Tito. Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to have you on the show. We’ll keep in touch.
That’s right. Muchas gracias, Lucy. Thank you very much. Mucho amor. Thank you so much for following me. Follow my social media. Remember Mambo Mondays.
Ciao.
Gracias.
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