Puya is a latin-influenced nu metal band from San Juan, Puerto Rico. They formed in 1988 as Whisker Biscuit by then Mattador guitarist Ramón Ortiz, Harold Hopkins, Eduardo Panigua and Mike Smart. Originally playing only instrumentals, they soon were joined by vocalist Sergio Curbelo and in 1992 they changed their name to Puya and the members soon moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where they created their mix of salsa and rap metal.
Puya gained popularity in the nu metal scene when they appeared in the second stage of Ozzfest, sharing the opening slot with Slipknot in 1999. The soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal 2000 features the song Tirale, the only track with lyrics in Spanish from the collection. They have opened for such bands as Sepultura, Red Hot Chili Peppers and KISS.