Pupi Campo was leader of one of the best Cuban bands on the rhumba and mambo circuit. When talking about his influences he said, “We’re all trying to copy Kenton.” One of the reasons the Latin leaders had come under the Kenton influence was that they had already been heavily influenced by Perez Prado, whom Campo named the Stan Kenton of Cuba. The jazz influence was inevitable, when one considers that those Latin bands working in the ‘40s all contained a sprinkling of American musicians. As a general rule, the lead trumpet, and the entire saxophone section were Americans. “It’s because we’re copying American harmony and style”, Pupi explained. “The Cuban musicians just can’t play it. Any American rhumba band could go down to Cuba and teach those Cuban bands how to really play. The Cuban saxophone men spend one or two years learning the fundamentals, then don’t bother to learn any more. They put it off. Mañana, mañana. But the rhythm section has to be Latin, and the first trumpet too. They have to have that bea