While he was almost as successful in Puerto Rico singing pop tunes with his sister as he was in other countries, Tony Croatto was very much impressed by Puerto Rican jíbaro singers, who could improvise décimas on the spot, something that reminded him of the payadores of Uruguay and Argentina he used to listen to when he was growing up. He also found a richness in musical traditions in Puerto Rico that, he claimed, was extremely rare elsewhere in Latin America. He started singing Puerto Rican folk songs with Nelly, and noticed that their pop treatment of these songs was far more in demand that the pop material they would normally sing together. He was also well impressed by the Puerto Rican people, who — he claimed — treated him better on his first night on the island than what he had experienced touring extensively in a country or two. That, plus various personal reasons, persuaded him to stay in Puerto Rico for good; he even went as far as saying he was a "born again Puerto Rican." Montero also made Puerto Rico her permanent residence, even after divorcing Croatto later on.