Most of the rock generation is familiar with Tito Puente through Santana's cover of "Oye Como Va" and his appearance in The Mambo Kings. By venturing closer to the source, they will discover what Latin jazz fans have known for years: Puente's intoxicating mix of Big Band jazz and Latin music creates Mambo madness at its finest. Tito Puente is credited with fusing Cuban charangas with Big Band swing and Bop. Puente always had one eye on dance fans and indeed, his music puts the ghost of St. Vitus in your body. But his other eye was planted on jazz fans — he loved arranging for composers such as Horace Silver and his soulmate Dizzy Gillespie. There are many similarities between Puente and Diz's various big bands — chief among them the spirit of global brotherhood that they celebrate. But Tito Puente never let his jazz side distract from his music's mass popularity; when the Big Band era was long gone, Puente not only kept his band together but saw it thrive. With more than a hundred albums to his credit, at least one or two should be a part of every collection. – Nick Dedina – 3 weeks ago

As Salsa's greatest icon, Cruz garnered all sorts of respect, from a Smithsonian lifetime achievement award to her own street in Miami, to the title "The Queen of Salsa." Her singing is deep and soulful, with expressive improvisations influenced by her Cuban upbringing. You're expected to dance to her music, with its jumping piano chords twinkling over tight conga rhythms, spicy percussion, blazing horn sections, and, atop it all, Cruz's searing vocals. Cream-of-the-crop Afro-Cuban ensembles such as the Fania All-Stars, Willie Colon, Ray Barreto, Johnny Pacheco and Tito Puente always had to work with Cruz. Her popularity reached its peak with the movie Mambo Kings. Cruz died in 2003. – 8 days ago

Gilberto Santa Rosa became a salsero the old-fashioned way: he worked for it. Unlike younger crops of singers who are pretty faces first and singers second, Santa Rosa came on the scene in the 1970s. He climbed up through the ranks, putting in time with unknown orchestras and, when he was lucky, with bigger names like the Puerto Rico All-Stars, Tommy Olivencia and Willie Rosario. He released his first album with his own orchestra in 1986 but it wasn't until 1990 that Santa Rosa made a huge dent in the charts with Punto de Vista. The barnstorming hits "Vivir Sin Ella" and "Perdoname" established him, and his 1991 follow-up Perspectiva confirmed he wasn't a one-hit wonder. – Sarah Bardeen – 3 weeks ago

He started out as a skinny 17-year-old from Puerto Rico on the streets of New York, hungry and ready to sing. He ended both a celebrity and a broken man, wasted by a long struggle with drug abuse, personal tragedies and AIDS. Born Hector Juan Perez in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1946, Lavoe pursued singing as a kid, gigging with a 10-piece band by the time he was 14 years old. Against his father's wishes, he moved to New York, where he met Johnny Pacheco of Fania Records. Pacheco introduced Lavoe to Willie Colon, and the two recorded more than 10 groundbreaking albums over eight years. Lavoe's erratic behavior and drug use forced Colon to dissolve the band in 1974, but Lavoe continued recording and packing stadiums in Latin America for the next decade. But he wasn't able to kick his heroin habit and he contracted HIV as a result, and in 1987 his 17-year-old son, Hector Jr., was accidentally killed. Five years after a suicide attempt, Lavoe succumbed to AIDS in 1993. The public outpouring of grief was vast: Lavoe's voice had been as fine as a reed pen, and his knack for phrasing incomparable. He has been called a "singer's singer," but he was also known for his kindness and wit. – Sarah Bardeen – 8 days ago

Willie Colon was there during the 1960s when Salsa, as it eventually became known, was in its developing stages. As part of a young generation of "Nuyoricans" (Puerto Ricans from New York City) along with Eddie Palmieri and Ray Baretto, he helped create this new, vibrant form of music based on the Cuban "conjunto" sound. As a trombone player, he shaped the gritty, aggressive sound of the brass that characterized the New York sound. His first record introduced him to the scene as "El Malo" (the bad one) — a reputation he often lived up to — while he in turn introduced to the public two of the greatest singers in Salsa history: Hector Lavoe and Ruben Blades. Rhythmically, Colon's music has always been rooted in the Cuban clave beat, full of up-front timbales and punctuating horns that build tension as the cowbell kicks in. Part of his everlasting appeal comes from lyrics that revel in street culture and the gangster image he projects; however, he must be credited with mixing Harlem soul and jazz into his dangerous Salsa. – Robert Leaver – 4 days ago

Although he was born in New Jersey, it wasn't until Frankie Ruiz moved to Puerto Rico that he was reborn as one of the 20th century's great salsa stars. After stints with Orquesta La Solucion and the Tommy Olivencia orchestra, Ruiz became one of the most sought-after solo salsa singers. He was a champion of salsa romantica, and brought that sensual style of music to a new generation of fans who were drawn by his undeniable talents and slender good looks. Unfortunately, the tempestuous Ruiz also romanced drugs, booze and violence; he was jailed in Texas for three years after assaulting a flight attendant. His addictions eventually killed him, and he died in 1998 of liver failure. A true original and towering talent, Ruiz has been sorely missed. – Sarah Bardeen – 2 weeks ago

She doesn't have a voice on the order of her hero, Celia Cruz, but India's passionate, emotive delivery has secured her a place in the salsa pantheon. She's toured and recorded with Eddie Palmieri, flirted with pop and even sung jazz standards on a 1996 release. – Sarah Bardeen – 10 days ago