“Aquí estoy con un poco de algo” Tite Curet Alonso

By: : Diego Aranda

“Aquí estoy con un poco de algo”

Tite Curet Alonso

This month of March, while the echoes of tributes and commemorations for the centennial of the birth of Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso still resonate in every corner of Puerto Rico and the world, we pause to reflect on a unique piece of his legacy. In 2026, his legacy has rightly been exalted in universities, public squares, and festivals such as the Carnaval de Ponce, dedicated to his memory. We now revisit the singular work in which he set aside his hallmark trait as the “tailor of composition,” adjusting his songs to the strengths of performers, and instead revealed another facet: interpreting his own works in his own voice.

We are speaking of “Aquí estoy con un poco de algo,” the only album Curet Alonso recorded as a singer, released in 1974 under the West Side Latino label. An album that contains the sonic variables of his genius.

The Voice of the Chronicler

By 1974, Tite Curet was already a legend behind the salsa boom. His lyrics had transformed salsa, injecting it with social consciousness, Black pride, and an urban chronicle that elevated Latin music narratives into a masterful form of communication without losing simplicity. He had composed for La Lupe, for Bobby Valentín, for Cortijo. All that remained was for the composer to step up to the microphone with his own voice.

It is said that only 1,500 copies of this album were pressed, with very limited commercial circulation. Far from the vocal clarity of Héctor Lavoe or the rapid improvisational flair of Ismael Rivera, Curet’s voice reaches us in chronicler mode—a storyteller who honestly delivers his message through the sincerity of his words. Jorge Millet’s arrangements are the perfect complement to the outstanding result of this recording, and the omnipresence of the vibraphone beautifully reinforces the emotion in every song.

Tite’s Voice in Ten Episodes

“Aquí estoy con un poco de algo” is not an album of grand orchestrations or immediate danceability. Across its ten tracks, it vocally responds to the spirit of the Latin Caribbean people.

Caonabo, set to a guaracha tempo, emerges from the need to complement the myth. Its historical and vindicative vein recalls the Taíno caciques, in line with what he would later achieve with “Anacaona.”

Triste vendaval, the first bolero on the album, expresses heartbreak transformed into poetic depth.

El Solitario presents a street portrait of the sadness of love lost and the sorrow of enduring grief alone.

The bolero Lo que fue tu amor reveals Tite’s predilection for the genre he mastered thanks to the influence of Rafael Hernández, Pedro Flores, and Tití Amadeo, whom he always acknowledged as his teachers.

Tin Ki Tin, originally by Martinho Da Vila, moves from samba to festive guaguancó, describing through onomatopoeia the musical process that shapes the direction of Afro-Cuban rhythm, from percussion to piano.

Afuera llueve is a melancholic composition, slow in tempo, evoking the atmosphere of a black-and-white film in the feeling it leaves behind—perfect for a rainy afternoon.

The guaguancó Tu antifaz connects the aesthetic and atmosphere of carnival with the unmasking of false love, gathering up the mask amid pain.

Tema de mi nostalgia, a bolero intertwined with Brazilian samba, is a composition by William Blanco Abrunhosa Trindade and Nilo Queiroz, reflecting Brazilian music as one of Tite’s great musical loves.

The track most promoted by radio was Eres la mulata, a recognition of Black beauty that he so strongly defended in his columns and songs—an homage to the Afro-Caribbean woman.

The album closes with Sin culpa, a reflection on love’s destiny and the dignity of walking away without harm.

Rebirth of a Hidden Treasure

Revisiting this album in 2026 is the ideal auditory tribute to bring back the essence of Curet Alonso. Beyond recognizing the prolific composer of more than 2,000 songs, it is about discovering the sentimental man who not only wrote about life but lived every experience within each verse. His facets as journalist, postal worker, and tireless observer merge here with that of the artist and occasional singer to offer us an invaluable sonic record.

This month of March, as the wave of tributes settles, we invite you to place the needle on this treasure. To discover the most intimate and expressive Tite. To discover what Tite composed for Tite—the singer of his own poetry.

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