Throughout his life Arsenio had never been a particularly healthy man, and by his late 50’s he was over-weight and slowing down; he died soon afer arriving in Los Angeles, succumbing to a stroke brought on by diabetes. Rodríguez’s estranged wife Anadina brought his body back to New York and he was buried in Ferncliff Cemetary initially in an unmarked grave. However, contrary to popular belief he did not die poor, since he did receive a modest income from his composition royalties, and in the end his plot was marked with a suitable stone. In the late 60s and early 70s, Johnny Pacheco, the Dominican bandleader and musical director of Fania Records, had been recording versions of the conjunto and son montuno sound that Rodríguez and others like La Sonora Matancera had pioneered decades before, complete with trumpets and tres, and similar arrangements. Soon after Rodríguez’s death, pianist and orchestra leader Larry Harlow recorded a tribute album (Tribute To Arsenio Rodríguez, 1971); the following year Tico compiled an LP of Arsenio cover-tunes by various artists (Recordando A Arsenio). In addition, many of Rodríguez’s compositions (and songs by others he made famous) were re-recorded in an updated Nuyorican style by the current stars of salsa, such as Ray Barretto, Ismael Miranda, La Sonora Ponceña, Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, and Celia Cruz.

Arsenio's innovative techniques, arrangements and compositions have had far reaching consequences because not only was the rise of salsa in the late 60s - 70s fueled in part by his Afro-Cuban son conjunto aesthetic, but one could argue that his pioneering influence can still be felt today through the edgy deconstructionist jazz and punk inflected music of Marc Ribot's Cubanos Postizos and Jacob Plasse's thrillingly eclectic ensemble Los Hacheros. These two contemporary New York-based projects re-imagine El Ciego Maravilloso's forward-looking yet rootsy approach, refreshing the music again and taking his spirit into the modern era for audiences outside the Latin tradition, people more often familiar with rock, jazz or soul perspectives than salsa or son cubano.

A1. Dame Un Cachito Pa´Huele
A2. Dundumbanza
A3. Como Se Goza En El Barrio
A4. Esas No
A5. La Gente Del Bronx
A6. Mambo En La Cueva
A7. Que Negra Pa´ Acelera
A8. Blanca Paloma
B1. Mami Me Gusto
B2. El Dolorcito De MI China
B3. Hay Fuego En El 23
B4. Besame Aqui
B5. La Fonda De Bienvenido
B6. No Quiero
B7. Juegame Limpio
C1. Pimienta
C2. Cambia El Paso
C3. Que Me Manda La NiÑA
C4. POBRE CHINITO
C5. Baila Simon
C6. El Reloj De Pastora
C7. Sabor De Pachanga
C8. Hachero Pa´ Un Palo
D1. Errante Y Bohemio
D2. El Divorcio
D3. PAPA UPA
D4. Lo Que Le Paso A Luisita
D5. No He Visto A Caridad
D6. Sueltala
D7. Adios Carmelina
D8. Emilio Dolores