Una mordida de la gran manzana - Nueva York - Tt: A Bite From The Apple - TA: New York

Latin Beat Magazine, Oct, 2000 by Vicki Solá

The morning after Tito Puente's passing, timbalero Ralph Irizarry told me that he felt that it would take quite some time before our community fully realized the impact and enormity of its tremendous loss. As the posthumous tributes and dedications continue, Ralph's words echo in my mind.

Sunday, August 20, El Barrio's 110th Street, from 5th to 1st Avenue, was renamed "Tito Puente Way." Puente's sons Ronald and Tito, Jr. and granddaughter Julianne watched along with the crowd as wife Margie Puente and the Honorable Peter F. Vallone, Speaker of the New York City Council, pulled the string unveiling the new street sign. The ceremony took place in front of 53 East 110th Street, where Puente and his parents had once lived. The apartment building was decorated with Puerto Rican flags for this very emotional occasion.

Those present included Celia Cruz and Pedro Knight along with members of the Machito family such as Mario Grub, Frank Grub II, son Frank Grub III, Martha Grillo Caraballo and Paula Grub. Also present were Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, Cándido Camero, Joe Cuba, Judge Edwin Torres, Ralph Irizarry, Jimmy Delgado, Bobby Sanabria, Mario Torres, Robert Sancho, Charles Candelario, Robert Guilbe, Louis Laffitte, Barbara Rodríguez, Joe Hernández, Ray Ramos, Bobby and Richie Mann, Angel René, Joe Conzo, George Rivera, Gladys Laiken, Ralph and Debra Mercado, Martin Cohen, Nando Alvericci, Cynthia Rivera, and Ana Flores. Pedro Aguilar, a.k.a. "Cuban Pete," and his dance partner Barbara Craddock arrived from Miami to attend the event. I also had the pleasure of meeting a "sister in radio" from Washington, D.C., Nancy Alonso, host/producer of WPFW 89.3 FM's The Latin Flavor.

Immediately after the unveiling of the street sign, the block party began. "Cuban Pete" and others danced in bright sunshine to the music of Los Jóvenes del Barrio and the Tito Puente Orchestra, whose members were clad in black t-shirts bearing the image of their fallen leader. Adalberto Santiago stepped up to the mike. Cuban singer Lucrecia, who has been likened to a youthful Celia Cruz, turned in amazing performances, singing with both bands. Singer Jillian wowed the crowd with her soulful voice as she belted out numbers from Los Jóvenes del Barrio's latest release, Es Diferente. Puente classics like Oye Como Va kept dancers moving.

Perhaps the most poignant moments occurred when members of Puente's own family took to the stage to jam, as Margie watched proudly. Tito Jr., a star in his own right, sang and Ronald, who bears a great resemblance to his father, played timbales and later congas, as his daughter Julianne amazed us all by playing timbales. More amazing was that Julianne told me afterwards that she had never played before.

The 111th Street Oldtimers Stickball Organization, The Association for Tito Puente Way, and all performers involved deserve thanks and congratulations for this most meaningful fiesta en El Barrio.

By the time you read this, another tribute to "El Rey" will have taken place --Ralph Mercado's 25th New York Salsa Festival. Dedicated to Puente, the concert is slated to feature Eddie Palmieri and the Tito Puente Orchestra, and Tito Puente, Jr., with special guest artist Celia Cruz. Also performing will be Oscar D'Leon, Domingo Quiñones, Tito Nieves, Tony Vega, Michael Stuart, Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Jerry Medina, Herman Olivera, Frankie Morales, Son By 4 and the Eddie Torres Dancers.

Renowned dancer Pedro "Cuban Pete" Aguilar, whose presence alone delighted folks in El Barrio on August 20th, has spent a lifetime dancing and teaching Latin dance. The 73-year old Puerto Rican was born in San Juan, and grew up in New York City and Washington, D.C. He began dancing with his mother and the other women in his family when unfortunate circumstances resulted in his living in orphanages and with foster families. During those years, the future "Maestro of Mambo" stopped dancing and began boxing. After a particularly bad loss in the ring, Aguilar's friend, the late Miguelito Valdés, persuaded him to give up fighting and dance again. Aguilar was about 21 at the time. He became the pride of the Palladium, receiving almost 100 prizes there during the days of the mambo. With Augie Rodríguez (of Augie & Margot fame) and Tommy Díaz, he formed the Mambo Devils, and later formed an act with Millie Donay, which would last from 1950 to 1956.

The man who Life Magazine has called one of the "greatest Mambo dancers ever" has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Palace Theatre, the RKO Palace, The Waldorf Astoria, and the Apollo, at the request of Nat King Cole. "The Prince of the Palladium" also has Warner Brothers Studios on his resume, along with performances at the White House for Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson, and a command performance for the Queen of England.

In recent years, Aguilar served as a consultant during the making of the motion picture The Mambo Kings, coaching actors Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas on authentic Palladium-style mambo dancing, since it was he who actually danced with the major bands of those days --Machito's, Puente's and Tito Rodríguez's.