Cuban music

Willie Colón passed away on Saturday, February 21, 2026 in a New York hospital at age 75, surrounded by his family.

His hits include El Malo (1967), Calle Luna Calle Sol, Siembra (1978) with Rubén Blades (3 million copies sold, Fania's best-selling album), and four albums with Celia Cruz. He sold over 30 million records in his career and won 9 Gold and 5 Platinum records.

Though born in the Bronx, Willie Colón was a pillar of Afro-Caribbean salsa, a genre deeply influenced by Cuban music (son, rumba, mambo). His work at Fania Records helped consolidate salsa as a synthesis of Cuban, Puerto Rican and New York musical traditions.

His most iconic duos were with Héctor Lavoe (1967-1974) and Rubén Blades (late 70s and early 80s), the latter considered one of the most important salsa duos in Latin music history.

Choteo is a distinctly Cuban form of irreverent humor that mocks authority and solemnity. Analyzed by Jorge Mañach in his 1928 essay Indagación del choteo, it's considered an essential trait of Cuban national identity.