Puerto Rican genres
Afro-Puerto Rican genre from ~1900 known as the 'sung newspaper'
Plena
Co-founder of plena in Ponce; a farm plowman and early percussionist
Bumbún Oppenheimer
Cuban singer who got her start with the Sonora Matancera before becoming the Queen of Salsa
Celia Cruz
Rubén Blades/Willie Colón song critiquing materialism; title means 'Plastic'
Plástico
Celia Cruz's famous one-word exclamation
Azucar! (Sugar!)
Oldest Afro-Puerto Rican tradition where the drummer follows the dancer's movements
Bomba
Early plena musician who recorded the genre and helped bring it to New York
Canario (Manuel Jimenez)
Panamanian lyricist whose socially conscious salsa collaborations with Willie Colón are legendary
Rubén Blades
Famous plena by Mon Rivera; title means 'Hello, who's calling?'
Alo! Quién llama?
Tito Puente's nickname
El Rey (The King)
Folk music of the Puerto Rican countryside; uses the cuatro
Música jíbara
Puerto Rican percussionist who brought bomba and plena into mainstream popular music
Rafael Cortijo
NY-born trombonist who defined 'salsa brava' and co-created Siembra with Rubén Blades
Willie Colón
Song invoking an orisha of healing; signature tune of Miguelito Valdés
Babalú
Celia Cruz's title in Latin music
Queen of Salsa
Puerto Rico's national instrument - a 10-string guitar-like instrument
Cuatro
Legendary improvising vocalist who sang with Cortijo nicknamed 'El Sonero Mayor'
Ismael Rivera
NY-born Puerto Rican singer known as one of the best-selling tropical salsa artists of all time
Marc Anthony
Arsenio Rodriguez song meaning 'I Was Born from Africa'
Yo nací del Africa
Arsenio Rodriguez's nickname, referring to his blindness
El Ciego Maravilloso
Frame drums that drive the plena rhythm
Panderetas
Puerto Rican trombonist known for comedic plenas; early innovator of the trombone in PR music
Mon Rivera
One of Cuba's longest-running ensembles, founded 1924; famous backing band for Celia Cruz
Sonora Matancera
Tito Puente's most famous composition
Oye Como Va
Benny Moré's nickname, referring to his wild rhythmic energy
El Bárbaro del Ritmo