East Harlem's Long-Delayed Tito Puente Memorial Revealed

EAST HARLEM, NY — East Harlem got its first look last week at the planned memorial for Tito Puente above Central Park, a sign of progress for a project that has been plagued by delays for years.

Proposals to construct a memorial for Puente, the Puerto Rican musician known as the "king of mambo," had been floated since his death in 2000. While a stretch of 110th Street between Fifth and First avenues was renamed in his honor after his death, the memorial has proven more complicated: the selected sculptor, Ogundipe Fayomi, withdrew from the project last year, citing funding issues and the city's "overly long process."

Now, Fayomi's initial partner, the muralist Manuel Vega, is pushing forward on his own. On Thursday, Vega presented miniature models of his own proposal to Community Board 11, showing a reimagined memorial in the traffic circle at Fifth Avenue and 110th Street — facing the Duke Ellington statue.

While an early proposal had Puente up on a pedestal, Vega's new plans put Puente closer to ground level, with a tiled dance floor at his feet.

"I thought about the lack of people-friendly spaces that could serve as a cultural base of expression — music, dance, and theater," Vega told the board. "I then remembered what made Tito Puente so popular was his invitation for people to dance. I realized that the invitation to dance was the real essence and purpose of this project."

Puente is shown banging on a pair of timbales, backed by pillars and suspended walls with murals depicting the history of the mambo. Seating between the pillars and dance floor will "welcome social gatherings and spontaneous performances," Vega said.

No estimated completion date for the memorial was given, and Vega implied that the project still needed additional funding. On Columbus Day, Oct. 11, Vega will publicly unveil the memorial model and other artworks in the El Barrio Artspace at P.S. 109 from 6-9 p.m.

Vega, a muralist based in East Harlem, said he personally painted two sets of drums for Puente during his lifetime. He was selected as one of the memorial artists through a competition launched by former Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito in 2016.

Vega, who has been critical of how the project has been handled by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, nonetheless appeared alongside agency representatives to present the memorial last week. The delays had been due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Maria, he said.

Board members reacted warmly to the proposal, advancing a resolution to support its construction. Member Deborah Quinones noted that residents began calling for a statue of Puente at the traffic circle soon after the memorial for Duke Ellington was built in 1997.

Puente was born in Harlem and spent much of his childhood in Spanish Harlem, living between 1923 and 1938 in a tenement on 110th Street. Through hit songs like "Oye Como Va," he helped bring mambo music and Latin jazz into the mainstream.