Latin jazz legend Tito Puente, perhaps best known to rock audiences for having penned the original version of Santana's 1971 hit, "Oye Como Va," died at a New York City hospital on Thursday morning from complications related to heart surgery.

According to the Associated Press, Puente, who was 77, sought medical attention in April after complaining to doctors about shortness of breath. He was subsequently diagnosed with a defective heart valve, and he underwent surgery on Wednesday at the New York University Medical Center to replace the valve.

In May, Puente was hospitalized in San Juan, Puerto Rico for two days and received treatment for what was then categorized as an irregular heartbeat. The condition forced him to cancel his Puerto Rican tour.

Puente was born Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. on April 23, 1923 in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York City and began playing in a local big band at the age of 13, prior to studying at Julliard from

1945-47 and later at the New York School of Music.

The Latin percussionist soared to fame in the '40s and '50s, helping bring traditional mambo and salsa music to mainstream audiences on such albums as "Cuban Carnival," "Puente Goes Jazz," and "Dance Mania.

Because of his association with the style of music and his seminal 1946 release "El Rey Del Mambo," Puente came to be dubbed as "The King Of The Mambo" and appeared as himself in the 1992 film "The Mambo Kings.

During his career, Puente helped popularize the use of bringing the timbales, a pair of single-headed drums mounted on stands, to the forefront of the orchestra, a style also employed by the likes of Pete Escovedo and his daughter, Sheila E.

Puente was credited with recording over 100 albums in his 60-year career, and in February he won his fifth Grammy Award for his 1999 record, "Mambo Birdland," which captured a recent live set at the Birdland nightclub in New York City.

Upon

hearing the news of Puente's death, contemporary salsa star Marc Anthony issued a statement to MTV News, saying, "I will forever be painfully knowing I'll never see him walk through a door and fill up a room again. But at the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to know and care for one of the most amazing men ever to walk the earth.

Though he was technically born in America to parents of Puerto Rican descent, the government of Puerto Rico has officially declared three days of mourning on the island to grieve the loss of Puente.