Manny Oquendo was an American percussionist. His main instrument was the timbales

Timbales

Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...

, and was strongly influenced by Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n drumming.

Oquendo grew up in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and began studying percussion in 1945. He worked in the bands of tropical and Latin music ensembles such as Carlos Valero, Luis del Campo, Juan "El Boy" Torres, Chano Pozo

Chano Pozo

Chano Pozo was a percussionist, singer, dancer and composer who played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz...

, Jose Budet, Juanito Sanabria, Marcelino Guerra

Marcelino Guerra

Marcelino Guerra, also known as "Rapindey" was a Cuban singer and songwriter who spent much of his life in the United States. His primary role was as a segunda voz, or harmony, singer....

, Jose Curbelo, and Pupi Campo. In 1950, he became the bongo

Bongo drum

Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...

 player for Tito Puente

Tito Puente

Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...

. Following this he played with Tito Rodriquez in 1954 and Vincentico Valdes in 1955. He worked freelance in New York before joining Eddie Palmieri

Eddie Palmieri

Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...

's La Perfecta orchestra in 1962. He worked with his own group, Conjunto Libre (later simply Libre), from 1974, and had a worldwide hit with "Little Sunflower" in 1983.

Discography

• Con Salsa, Con Ritmo (Salsoul Records
  Salsoul Records
  This article is about the record label. For SalSoul the Puerto Rican Salsa radio station see Cadena Salsoul.Salsoul Records was a New York City based record label founded by brothers Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre . Salsoul released about 300 disco 12-inch singles, and a string of...
  
  , 1976)
• Con Salsa, Con Ritmo Vol. 2 - Tiene Calidad, (Salsoul, 1978)
• Los Lideres de la Salsa (Salsoul, 1979)
• Libre Increible (Salsoul, 1981)
• Ritmo, Sonido, y Estilo (Montuno Records, 1983)
• Mejor que Nunca (Milestone Records
  Milestone Records
  Milestone Records is a United States based jazz record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was incorporated into Fantasy Records in 1972, since then it has been used for reissues as well as for new recordings....
  
  , 1994)
• Muevete! (Milestone, 1996)
• Ahora (Milestone, 1999)
• Los New Yorkinos (Milestone, 2000)

Sources

• [ Manny Oquendo] at Allmusic
• Manny Oquendo at lpmusic.com
• Herencia Latina - Obituary