Ray Barretto a.k.a. Hard Hands (born April 29, 1929 in New York City) is the first Hispanic to record a latin song which became a "hit" in the American Billboard Charts.

Barretto's parents emigrated to New York from Puerto Rico, looking for a better way of life in the early 1920s. He was raised in Spanish Harlem and at a very young age was influenced by his mother's love of music and by the jazz music of musicians such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

In 1946, when Barretto was 17 years old, he joined the Army. While statiioned in Germany, Barretto met Belgium vibist Fats Sadi , who was working there. However, it was when he heard Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" with Cuban percussionist, Chano Pozo , that he realized his true calling in life.

In 1949, when Barretto returned home from the service, he started to visit clubs and participated in "jam sessions". That's how he was able to perfect his conga playing. On one occasion Charlie Parker heard Barretto play and invited him to play in his band. Later, he was asked to play for Jose Curbelo and Tito Puente, for whom he played for four years. Barretto developed a unique style of playing the conga and soon he was sought by other jazz band leaders. Latin percussionists started to appear in jazz groups with frequency as a consequence of Barretto's musical influence.

In 1960, Barretto was a "house musician" for the "Prestige", "Blue Note" and "Riverside" record brands. New York had become the center of latin music in the United States and a style called "Charanga" was the latin music craze at that time.

In 1961, Barretto recorded his first "great" hit, "El Watusi", which became the first latin song to penetrate the "American Billboard Charts". In 1967, he joined the "Fania" record label where he recorded "Acid", an experiment joining rhythm and blues with latin music.

Barretto played the conga in some the recordings of the Rolling Stones and the Bee Gees. In 1975 he was nominated for a "Grammy Award" for the song "Barretto". From 1976 to 1978, Barretto recorded three records for "Atlantic Records" and waas nominated for a "Grammy" for "Barretto Live...Tomorrow". In 1979, he produced a salsa record for "Fania", which considered by many as a "classic" of salsa, titled "Ricanstruction". It was proclaimed as the 1980 "Best Album" by "Latin N.Y. Magazine" and Barretto was named "The Conga Player of The Year".

In 1990, Barretto finally won a "Grammy" for the song "Ritmo en el Corazon" (Rhythm in the Heart), with the participation of Celia Cruz. In the 90's he continued to record in the styles of music he loves best, jazz and salsa and toured the United States, Europe and Latin-America. In 1999, Barretto was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.

Ray Barretto is now 75 years old, lives in New York and is an active musical producer.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans