Puerto Rican natives Sergio Curbelo (lead vocals), Ramon Ortiz (guitar), Harold Hopkins (bass) and Ed Paniagua (drums) had been playing together in San Juan for several years through various incarnations, until they settled on the formation that became Puya. In 1992, sensing a need to expand their musical horizons, the band fled the stagnant local Rock en Espa├▒ol scene and moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Being away from home brought out the band's Latin heritage, which made its way into Puya's sound: "I don't know if we missed the island or what," said Ed, "but our Latin influence started growing stronger (in Florida), more than when we were living in Puerto Rico. We wanted to go back to our roots, and it was interesting to find them, musically, in the United States." After this development, not only did the band merge their Latin and Anglo musical influences, they began to use English, Spanish, and Spanglish lyrics, peppering their songs with Puerto Rican slang.
It was during a visit to Miami that Puya met their producer-to-be, Gustavo Santoalalla--the L.A. based Argentine producer who has worked with some of Rock en Espa├▒ol's biggest stars: Cafe Tacuba, Caifanes, Molotov, Maldita Vecindad and many others. Soon after, they were playing gigs throughout Los Angeles in clubs such as the House of Blues, Dragonfly, and Opium Den. Exposure to L.A.'s growing Latin rock scene helped to solidify their rock-meets-salsa style. A deal with MCA Records soon followed in early 1998, and later that year, they released an EP which contained three songs that now appear on their 1999 CD Fundamental.
