Star-Studded Tribute Gala To Honor ‘The Real Mambo King’.

The late, great jazz legend Tito Puente will be honored April 21 at the highly anticipated concert event “Rums of Puerto Rico Presents: Viva Puente, A Tribute to the Real Mambo King.” The two-hour gala will be held one day after Puente would have turned 80, 8 p.m.- 10 p.m., at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. The event kicks off a nationwide tribute tour, all of which will benefit the Ernest Puente Trust.

“It is truly an honor for me and my family to participate in a real and honest tribute to my father,” says Tito Puente Jr. “Finally [there will be] a worthy tribute to a man who has crossed all borders of this earth with his music.”

CELEBRITIES PAY TRIBUTE

The star-studded show will be hosted by actor Jimmy Smits and Latin star Roselyn Sanchez, both of whom share Puente’s Puerto Rican heritage. Ruben Blades is scheduled to headline the esteemed list of musicians and artists who will perform Puente songs or offer the audience anecdotes about the Five-Time Grammy Award Winner known worldwide as The Real Mambo King. Actor Freddy Rodriguez of the popular HBO series “Six Feet Under” is confirmed to appear, along with Jimmy Smits’ wife and star of “CSI: Miami” Wanda de Jesus. The following entertainers are also scheduled to appear: Rosie Perez, Celia Cruz, Dave Valentin, Giovanni Hidalgo and Tito Puente Jr. Multiple Grammy winner Cucco Pena will conduct the orchestra and wrote a song in honor of the event, which all of the musicians will gather on stage and sing at the end of the show. A taped broadcast is scheduled to air on New York’s local NBC affiliate three weeks after the event, and may also appear on Telemundo and Bravo at later dates.

“Rums of Puerto Rico is proud to present Viva Puente, a tribute event that honors one of America’s biggest jazz legends,” says Dina Albanese, director of Rums of Puerto Rico. “We look forward to performances from our lineup of esteemed musicians, whose careers thrive in today’s music scene, largely in part to Tito Puente’s legacy.”

For more information at http://www.puertoricorums.com