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Events on Wednesday 31 May 2000 2
1923 – 2000Tito Puente (1923-2000)Died 31 May 2000, aged 77Tito Puente was a New York-born bandleader, timbales player and composer known as the "King of Mambo" and "El Rey" of Latin music. Over more than fifty years he recorded around a hundred albums, and his "Oye Como Va" became a hit for Santana. He did much to carry Latin jazz to mainstream American audiences.
2000Survivor premieres in the United StatesA reality contest becomes a national phenomenonThe American version of Survivor debuted on CBS on 31 May 2000, stranding sixteen contestants on a Borneo island to compete for a million-dollar prize. Its August finale drew more than 50 million viewers and helped make competitive reality television a fixture of network schedules. The format was adapted from a Swedish programme.