In a parallel universe it would be Cuban rooted Latin music, not rock that would have dominated late 20th Century American popular culture. Certainly, if the record industry had had its way, the mambo would have been the craze with staying power, not rock and roll. And for a while it could have happened. Mambo and by extension Latin music was truly massive.

East (Spanish) Harlem, and the Bronx had the most thriving musical communities, New York melting pots of Latin music and and home to its biggest figures, Bandleaders Harvey Averne and the owner of Fania Records Jerry Masucci. Bobby Pauneto was of Spanish Catalan heritage on his mother’s side and Italian on his father’s, but being brought up in the Bronx, he found himself surrounded by the sounds that forged his career and obsession.

He signed to Sidney Siegel’s Seeco label where he recorded 8 tracks in 1965, all of which are compiled here for the first time. The second side of this exclusive playlist includes Cal Tjader’s tribute track ‘Pauneto’s Point’, as well as recordings that formed the influences on Bobby Pauneto through the 50s and 60s that help to contextualise the sounds of Latin New York and how they affected Bobby's unique music.