Not your ‘tipico’ tribute: Tito Puente Jr. honors his father’s centennial in song (2025)

Tito Puente Jr. does more than walk in his father’s shoes — he sings his father’s songs and celebrates his music.

Now, Tito Jr. will honor the King of Latin Music’s centennial with a concert at the Academy of Music on Saturday.

The late Tito Puente — who would have turned 100 on April 20 — is credited with bringing Cuban and Caribbean sounds to mainstream audiences, popularizing the mambo, son and cha-cha-cha with hits like “Ran Kan Kan” and “Oye Como Va.” Puente Sr. received a slate of accolades throughout his career, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990, the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 and the National Medal of Arts in 1997. He was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

“He was just too vibrant, too exciting,” Tito Jr. said of his father. “There was magic in the music my father made. It made people happy all over the world.”

Tito Jr.’s performance in Northampton is especially celebratory, as Western Massachusetts is home to a rich and vibrant Latino community — most of whom, he believes, will be familiar with the sounds of his father’s music. According to a study published in July by the University of Massachusetts Boston, the Pioneer Valley is home to 133,680 Latinos, with Puerto Ricans making up 84.7% of that number.

Tickets to Saturday’s show are $30.83 after fees. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at aomtheatre.com/event/tito-puente-jr, by calling the box office at 413-584-9032, ext. 105, or by visiting the box office in person through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.

In an interview with Tito Jr. by phone, he spoke about his music, his father and what audiences can expect from his Northampton show. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. In honor of it being your father’s centennial, how would you describe his legacy? What does it mean to you?

A. It means everything. As far as the Latin music world, Tito Puente was a figure. Especially now, during Hispanic Heritage Month, his profile is really shining bright. He was a figure in the Latin music world and the Latin jazz music world that was really the pioneering icon and standard — the gold and platinum standard of Latin jazz music. So, to celebrate his centennial is important to not only my family, my immediate family and all of his fans, but to the world in general. I know last year, Google tributed Tito Puente with a Google Doodle. This year, we celebrated the 36th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. It’s really something special, especially now during Hispanic Heritage Month, to be celebrating the life and legacy of such an amazing pioneering icon like Tito Puente. And it’s really something special for me, doing this, this entire year. We’ve been doing many concerts around the globe performing his music and celebrating him.

Q. Did you always want to be a musician growing up?

A. Yes, I always kind of gravitated towards music, but I never liked mambo or Latin music. I’m a rock guy. Those who know me know that I like heavy metal. I grew up in the ‘80s, so I like the rock stuff, the hair bands: AC/DC, Metallica, Slayer, all those heavy-duty rock bands. I was always fascinated with them. I still am even today. Mambo music and Latin music and Latin jazz music, something my father really mastered in, was something that I gravitated towards by traveling with him. I traveled around the world with him when I was younger. And that’s why I’ve honed in on Afro Cuban music and learned more about the rhythms, and the actual doors that he broke down for all Hispanics and Latinos and Black jazz artists around the world. Tito Puente was probably one of the first band leaders to break down that stigma of what we used to call back in the day “tipico” (typical) bands. That would be the Latin bands that you would see in a local nightclub or in certain Latin markets, but my father broke down that barrier and made Latin American music, which really folded over into Middle America, the Midwest, Texas, Chicago, Ohio and states that you wouldn’t think of hearing too much Latin music in general. And then, of course, he broke those barriers going to Japan, the Far East, the Orients, Europe, Indonesia, Australia, around the globe, and that’s something that he will forever be remembered for.

Q. Do you have any memories of your father that really stand out to you?

A. So many. Eventually I’ll write a book, and we are doing a documentary series on his life story. There’s just so many great memories of my father, but the ones I’ve remembered the most are the intimate moments, just dad being dear old dad at home, you know, Christmas time, Thanksgiving, funny stuff like that. I would play with my rock band — I had a rock band when I was younger — and he would come in the garage in his robe, and we’d wake him up with our heavy metal. He would be (coming home) from a long night of performing in New York City, and we’d be playing at 9 in the morning on a Saturday, and he would come downstairs and be like, “Hey, you guys, you’re too loud. And you’re off-beat. But, keep it up: You might be somebody someday.” Just cracking jokes like that. He was just all around a great person, humble like that. Born and raised in Spanish Harlem, New York, street guy. His aura — we call it “alma” — his aura that he had was just magical. He could walk into a room, and he would be the focus of attention. That’s really the things that I remember about him the most — just his funny demeanor and his great sense of humor.

Q. What do you do musically to stay true to your father’s legacy, while also incorporating your own music and sounds?

A. I put my father in the category of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky. He’s in that category of that masterfulness of arranging and composing and being so talented. I saw him one time sit on an airplane, from New York to California, and just write out music off the top of his head. Just write it on music paper, with no mistakes. That was the incredible part about him — that musicianship and that talent exuded from him. A child prodigy growing up in very rough conditions of Spanish Harlem. My grandma used to have to give him a quarter to go get piano lessons from a local pianist. He grew up from very humble beginnings, and learning that legacy and admiring that legacy is something that I now continue on. I push my father’s music and his spirit and the hardships that he went through to get to the maximum level this music can possibly get by performing Latin music with symphonic arrangements. He started doing that towards the end of his life and his career, (but) I don’t think my father’s career ever really ended, if you think about it. He’s no longer with us physically, but his career still thrives through me, and through the fans and through all the algorithms of TikTok and Instagram, and you see people dancing to Tito Puente music. But to me, I feel that that I’ve been pushing his music for the past 23 years since his passing, and I do it with a smile on my face every night, and I hope that I can bridge people together. The last name “Puente” means bridge in Spanish, and that’s what Tito Puente did. Tito Puente bridged generations together through his music, and I hope I’m doing that with the kids today. The Latinx, the new generation, those kids who are 16, 17, 18 years old, who never experienced Tito Puente live or saw him in person, that I can maybe challenge them to check out his music, to watch his YouTube videos, and to come to my concerts so they can experience that music, those arrangements.

Q. Your Northampton appearance is especially important here because Western Massachusetts is home to such a vibrant and rich Latino community. Would you like to say anything to the community?

A. Muchas gracias. I encourage all of my Hispanic brothers and sisters to come celebrate a man who just made such an impact, even ‘til today, on all Latin music that you hear today. Some of the biggest artists in the world today are Bad Bunny, Karol G, and these big reggaetoneros and these big hip-hop artists, they all have given recognition and honorable mention to Tito Puente (and to Celia Cruz), because those two pioneers opened up the doors for all Hispanic artists and the ones that are really global superstars today. That’s what Tito Puente was. He was a global superstar, an international superstar, as he still is today. Come experience that in concert by listening to some great, great music. I’m going to take you guys back in time. It’s also an educational experience for the younger generation, too. That’s why I want kids and the Latinx community to come to my concerts, and I encourage moms and dads to bring them, to teach their kids about who Tito Puente was, the impact that he made in Hispanic culture and Latin American culture, and in American culture, too, as well. He’s part of pop society. My father was featured on “The Simpsons,” on “Sesame Street.” You can’t get on those shows just being a typical guy in a “tipico” world. You have to be an international star to be on those particular television programs. And Tito Puente was that. Everybody that comes to the show, bring your dancing shoes for sure, because I know you’re going to get up and dance, and enjoy the music of my late father.

Q. Any advice for the younger generation?

A. A quote from Tito Puente: “Surround yourself with creative people, thus you’ll be creative.” And I say that with such passion, such deep concern for the kids today, because I feel like there’s a lack of musicianship, there’s a lack of music in the schools, conservatories of music, universities, colleges. They need more music programs. Surround yourself with other people that are talented, and you will feel the creativity bounce off each other. That’s how bands are created, that’s how music is created. We don’t even realize how much music is in our lives. The moment we wake up, there’s chimes on our cellphones, that’s music. You’re waking up to music, and you’re going to sleep with music. Music is such an integral part of our lives, and it’s so important that we put some more of that into the education of the new generation. Be around others, and I promise you will find your way and be inspired. That’s what Tito Puente did for so many generations. I hope that I can do that for the new generations to come.

Q. Is there anything else you can tease or share about the centennial celebration, about what projects are planned?

A. Yes. Beyond the concerts that we are doing on the tour, and Northampton being one of them, we are celebrating some television shows and some programs. We’ll be doing this all the way through the New Year, and it might even go into the next year, to be honest with you, because it’s so massively in demand. And that’s what I’m very, very happy about. I never worked so hard in my life. This year has been incredibly challenging for me, but I am so appreciative of the fans that have been coming out to the shows. Follow me on social media, and see all the great things we got coming real soon — documentary series, biopic eventually on Tito Puente’s life story, a new album in the works, more music, more concerts. Wow, so much more to come in 2024, and I’m really looking forward to the new year. There’s so many milestones of my father’s career that this can continue on for decades to come. I mean, he put out two albums a year for 50 years, so I can celebrate every album for the next 50 years. (laughs) I guess my kids are gonna have to do this. So we’re gonna be celebrating Tito Puente each and every year with something new.

To stay up to date on all of the plans for the Tito Puente centennial celebration, follow Tito Puente Jr. on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram at TitoPuenteJr, and on TikTok at @titopuentejr1.