"[1] A popular live act over the course of a 20-year, 14-album career, the Puerto Rican ensemble are known for strong musicianship; for example, Chris Nickson of Allmusic, in noting the blending of jazz elements with plena on the Mas Libre CD, described the group's delivery of said as "highly accomplished".

Regarding their performance at the latter event, the LA Times praised the "sizzling Latin jazz and salsa grooves" that both Plena Libre and another act on the bill, Poncho Sanchez, displayed.

[7] The group received their first Latin Grammy nomination, in the category “Best Tropical Traditional Album”, for their 2001 recording Mas Libre.

[10] The 2006 Latin Grammys saw an additional nomination for Best Tropical Traditional Album for the group, this time for their recording Evolucion.

[11] Among the notable musicians that have recorded with Plena Libre are master pianist Eddie Palmieri[12] and Nestor Torres.