IU students will get a chance to meet the original “Mambo King,” Tito Puente, today during a lecture at the School of Music.

Puente will speak with students at 3 p.m. in Room 114. He will be performing with the NIU Jazz Ensemble Wednesday at Elgin High School and Thursday at East Aurora High School.

A pioneer in Latin and jazz rhythms, Puente is also know simply as “El Rey,” the King. He said he has seen this type of music become more acceptable.

“I’ve been playing this type of music for decades. The recognition and exposure I’ve been given has made the music become popular,” Puente said.

The recognition has lead to four Grammy awards and has given him the opportunity to perform around the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and Japan. Recently, he performed at the White House.

He began his career at age 15 playing in Miami Beach, Fla. and studied at Juilliard where he mastered the piano, timbales, saxophone, marimba and vibes. He also is a master composer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor.

While Puente has achieved success, he has remained close to his roots. His parents immigrated from Puerto Rico and moved to East Harlem, or “El Barrio,” a community of Hispanic immigrants.

“I am very concerned with the Latino community all over the world. I try to keep in music very close to the roots,” he said.

In addition, his music reaches across generations. “I have a lot of young people following (the music). The older people are the ones who tell the younger people about my music,” he said.

Puente encourages students to stay in school and study their profession. He also founded a scholarship for young musicians and has awarded over 47 scholarships.