Puya (genus)

Puya is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. These terrestrial plants are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and southern Central America. Many of the species are monocarpic, with the parent plant dying after one flower and seed production event.

The species Puya raimondii is notable as the largest species of bromeliad known, reaching 3 m tall in vegetative growth with a flower spike 9–10 m tall. The other species are also large, with the flower spikes mostly reaching 1–4 m tall.

The name Puya was derived from the Mapuche Indian word meaning "point".

The genus is commonly divided into two subgenera, Puya, containing eight species, and Puyopsis containing the remainder. The subgenera can be distinguished by the presence of a sterile inflorescence at the branch apex in Puya, which are fertile in Puyopsis.

Species

Puya (band)

Puya is a Puerto Rican Latin metal band.

History

The band originally formed in Puerto Rico as a progressive rock combo. In 1992, the band added vocalist Sergio Curbelo and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they created a mix of salsa and heavy metal with the assistance of Jeff Renza and the Noiz Boiz production studio. They adopted the name Puya in 1994 with the release of a demo tape. Puya was the first Puerto Rican rock band to achieve a high level of international success.

In 1995, Puya released a demo album under the Noiz Boiz label. There they also met producer Gustavo Santaolalla who signed them to MCA and in 1999 released their debut album, Fundamental, which received critical praise. This propelled the band to stardom even landing them in the second stage of Ozzfest where they shared the opening slot with Slipknot in 1999. In 2000, their song "Tírale" was included in the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal 2000, and was the collection's only track with Spanish lyrics. The band opened for Sepultura, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pantera and KISS. They also recorded a cover of The Police's "Spirits in the Material World" in Spanish, with the title "Almas en un mundo material". Because sales of the band's 2001 album Union did not meet MCA's expectations, the label did not renew the band's contract after it had expired in 2002.