Which album won Ray Barretto his only Grammy Award?

Ray Barretto won his only Grammy Award for the album Ritmo en el corazón.

The honor came at the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1990, when the album won in the Tropical Music category. Ritmo en el corazón was a collaboration featuring Barretto’s percussion and bandleading with vocals by Celia Cruz and Adalberto Santiago. Its title translates roughly as “Rhythm in the Heart.”

Barretto was already a major figure in Latin music by then. His 1962 recording “El Watusi,” made with Charanga Moderna, had been a major pachanga hit, and he later became closely associated with Fania and the New York salsa scene. He also worked across Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban music and popular studio recording.

Listeners sometimes choose Indestructible because it is one of Barretto’s best-known salsa albums, while Irresistible was a Grammy nominee in the same broad period. Neither was his winning record: the 1990 Grammy specifically recognized Ritmo en el corazón.