Puya is a Puerto Rican

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band. Formed in 1991, the band rose to prominence with their fusion of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, salsa and heavy metal.

History

The band originally formed in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

as a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

combo, in 1991, under the name Whisker Biscuit. In 1992, the band added vocalist Sergio Curbelo and moved to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, where they created a mix of salsa and heavy metal with the assistance of Jeff Renza and the Noiz Boiz production studio. They adopted the name Puya in 1994, which is Spanish for "sharp point", but is also a popular type of Puerto Rican coffee. Puya was the first Puerto Rican rock band to achieve a high level of international success. In 1995, Puya released their self-titled debut album under the Noiz Boiz label, but did not sign with the label. There they also met producer

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (; born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine composer, record producer and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Gustavo Santaolalla, numerous accolades for List of works by Gustavo S ...

who signed them to MCA and in 1999 released their second album, '' Fundamental'', which received critical praise. This propelled the band to stardom even landing them in the second stage of

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

where they shared the opening slot with Slipknot in 1999. In 2000, their song "Tírale" was included in the soundtrack of the movie '' Heavy Metal 2000'', and was the collection's only track with Spanish lyrics. The band opened for

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

and

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

. They also recorded a cover of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

's " Spirits in the Material World" in Spanish, with the title "Almas en un mundo material". When sales of the band's 2001 album '' Union'' did not meet MCA's expectations, the label did not renew the band's contract. After a 2002 performance at Tito Puente Amphitheater in Puerto Rico (which was later released on DVD), Puya went on an extended hiatus. During this time Ramon Ortiz formed the band Ankla. In 2009, Puya reunited and performed in front of over 12,000 fans at Stereo Music Fest at the Puerto Rico Convention Center. The digital EP ''Areyto'' appeared on iTunes on August 27, 2010. The band has since continued on with a lighter touring schedule, focusing primarily on "special shows" like Cuba’s Patria Grande Festival in 2014. In 2018, Sergio Curbelo left the band. Diego Romero of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, replaced him and they released two singles together, "Súbele La Candela" whose lyrics speak about the protests held in Puerto Rico against former governor

Ricardo Rosselló Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares (; born March 7, 1979) is an American former politician, businessman, neurobiologist and educator. He served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 until his resignation in 2019. In 2021, he returned to active ...

and "Viento". In 2020, Puya announced that Romero had left the band to start a solo career and that Curbelo was returning to the band. Puya entered the studio in the summer of 2020 and teased a new song "Potencial" on the Puerto Rican digital radio station AZ Rock Radio.

Musical style and influences

Puya's music is defined by placing emphasis on heavy guitar grooves and percussive Latin rhythms, punctuated by

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

horns, with composed melodies that lead into instrumental improvisation. Additionally, some of Puya's songs have also incorporated

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

. Puya's music draws from diverse styles, including salsa,

Cuban rumba Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, n ...

, bomba,

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

, heavy metal,

and

. Puya was influenced by

, Rush, Fania All-Stars,

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

and

. The band's music has been categorized as Latin alternative, hardcore, hard rock, heavy metal, Latin metal,

and

rock en español Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. Though sometimes categorized as

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

, this is contested by ''Latin Music: Musicians, Genres, and Themes'', which says that Puya is not a part of this genre and has its own style of music.

Band members

* Ramon Ortiz – guitar * Eduardo Paniagua – drums * Harold Hopkins Miranda – bass * Sergio Curbelo (1992–2018, 2020–present) – vocals

Former members

* Diego Romero (2018–2020) – vocals

Discography

Studio releases * '' Puya'' (1995) LP * '' Fundamental'' (1999) LP * ''Union'' (2001) LP * '' Areyto'' (2010) EP * '' Potencial'' (2024) EP Live releases * ''Pa Ti En Vivo: Live In Puerto Rico'' (2006) DVD * ''Vital'' (2014) LP Singles * "Montate" (1998) * "Oasis" (1999) * "Sal Pa Fuera (Break It Up)" (1999) * "Ride"/"People"/"Numbed" (as ''Union 3 Song Sampler'') (2001) * "Pa'Ti Pa'Mí" (promotional video only) (2001) * "Subele la Candela" (2019) * "Viento" (2020)* * "Potencial" (2021) * "Machete y Garabato" (2022) * "Falling Illusions" (2024)

References

External links

Official website

Puya's official Facebook page

Puya's Myspace Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puya Alternative rock groups American jazz-rock groups Puerto Rican heavy metal musical groups American musical quartets Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 American progressive metal musical groups Rock en español music groups Salsa music groups 1991 establishments in Puerto Rico 2005 disestablishments in Puerto Rico 2009 establishments in Puerto Rico