New York's Latin music giant Joe Cuba died Sunday at age 78, after a long illness. As prolific as he was influential, Cuba was one of the main pioneers of the Latin soul movement in the 1960s, which included the popular boogaloo craze, and then became an elder in the salsa scene during the 1970s and beyond.
Born Gilberto Calderon in New York in 1931, and originally a conguero, Cuba and his band were part of a pivotal generation of NY-raised Puerto Rican Americans (Nuyoricans) who helped define the city's Latin music styles following the mambo-era of the 1960s. Here's a selection of some of Cuba's key songs over those years.
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