His album covers portray this large figure as an intimidator (see Indestructible, Barretto Power and Acid), but in real life Ray Barretto was a gentle giant with an enormous amount of musical know-how. You shake his huge hands and it’s like being trapped in a concrete vice, but he can create soft, meaningful sounds on his set of congas whenever the occasion calls for it. Ray Barretto is the epitome of the Puerto Rican congueros of New York. Barretto gained untold notoriety in his quest to be recognized as one of the key contributors to the sound of Latin Salsa and Latin Jazz.