1. Tito Puente was born on April 20,1923, at Harlem Hospital Center in the New York borough of Manhattan, the son of Ernest and Felicia Tito Puente, Puerto Ricans living in New York City's Spanish Harlem.
31 Facts About Tito Puente
1. 2.
Tito Puente's family moved frequently, but he spent the majority of his childhood in Spanish Harlem.
3.
Tito Puente's father was the foreman at a razor blade factory.
4.
Tito Puente's family called him Ernestito, Spanish for Little Ernest, and this became shortened to "Tito".
5.
Tito Puente switched to percussion by the age of 10, drawing influence from jazz drummer Gene Krupa.
6.
Tito Puente later created a song-and-dance duo with his sister Anna in the 1930s and intended to become a dancer, but an ankle tendon injury prevented him from pursuing dance as a career.
7.
Tito Puente learned a lot from the trios and bambas that played in Plaza San Jose in old San Juan.
8.
Tito Puente heard lots of mambo music then and he was influenced by its Afro-Cuban roots.
9.
Tito Puente had distinct Asian influences in his composition and arranging style, all of which came after his service during World War II.
10.
Tito Puente's conducting teacher was Japanese, further influencing the Asian elements in his compositions.
11.
Tito Puente said that if it wasn't for war, he would've never been exposed to their music and culture.
12.
Tito Puente introduced new techniques to some percussion instruments that would help redefine how they were used in music.
13.
Tito Puente applied his jazz training to timbales, which was unlike anything that had been before.
14.
Tito Puente served in the Navy for three years during World War II after being drafted in 1942.
15.
Tito Puente was discharged with a Presidential Unit Citation for serving in nine battles on the escort aircraft carrier USS Santee where his duties included playing alto saxophone and clarinet in the ship's big band as well as occasionally drum set, piano during mess hall, acting as the ship's bugler, and serving as a machine gunner in the battles of Leyte and Midway.
16.
Tito Puente hid below deck for a few days due to the anger from crew members for the false alarm.
17.
Tito Puente said his worst time in the Navy was every time he had to play taps for someone who was killed.
18.
Tito Puente was coached by Lieutenant Sweeney who he came to be friends with.
19.
The first chart Tito Puente arranged was 'El Botellero' which he sent to Machito and Mario Bauza in New York City.
20.
Tito Puente was offered a delayed return to the ship so he could go to different parts of the Orient.
21.
Tito Puente was given several months to stop in each port city to learn about music, food, and customs.
22.
Tito Puente learned that they use chord voicings in fourths, wrote melodies based on scales, and more.
23.
Bands wanted Tito Puente playing up front rather than in the back like most big bands.
24.
Tito Puente was a popular arranger given his background and the influence of past mentors.
25.
Richard "Richie" Tito Puente was the percussionist in the 1970s and 1980 funk band Foxy.
26.
Tito Puente's daughter Audrey Puente is a television meteorologist for WNYW and WWOR-TV in New York City.
27.
Tito Puente was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
28.
Tito Puente was well known within his community because of his involvement.
29.
Tito Puente would go up to people who were jamming and playing street music.
30.
When Burns is later shot, Tito Puente becomes one of the prime suspects but manages to clear himself by performing one of his songs for Chief Wiggum.
31.
Seven alternative endings were filmed of various characters shooting Burns; Tito Puente is one of the alternates.