Alt.Latino: From church basement to salsa immortality: Remembering Willie Colón
NPR Music
NPR
4.3 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
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Summary
The trombonist, songwriter, producer and arranger was a key part of the transition of Afro-Caribbean dance music from regional traditions to worldwide popularity. For an insider’s perspective on that history, this week we speak to trombonist and bandleader Angel “Papo” Vázquez, a Philadelphia-born musician who was not only inspired to play the trombone by Willie Colón, but also played on some historic recordings by Colón and other Fania Records notables.
The best music tells great stories, and the same can be said about musicians. Vázquez brings along five tracks by Willie Colón that set him, and the rest of the world, on a path of deep appreciation for Colón’s contributions to salsa.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This message comes from Subaru. |
| 0:02.0 | The all-new 2026 Subaru Outback features bold new styling and standard symmetrical all-wheel drive, |
| 0:09.2 | plus safety features like standard eyesight driver assist technology. |
| 0:13.7 | Discover the all-new outback at Subaru.com slash outback. |
| 0:18.4 | Music Come slash Outback. |
| 0:28.8 | From NPR music, this is Alt Latino. |
| 0:30.0 | I'm Felix Contreras. |
| 0:31.5 | And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. |
| 0:33.0 | Let the cheese win begin. |
| 0:40.4 | Okay, Anna, on February 21st, the music world lost one of the original architects of the earliest days of salsa, legendary salsa musician and pioneer Willie Colon. |
| 0:45.7 | In the late 1960s and through the 70s, the trombonist, band leader, composer, producer played |
| 0:51.1 | a pivotal role in transforming Afro-Caribbean dance music into what became known around the world as salsa. |
| 0:58.1 | And Felix, music released on what was at the time the small independent upstart label, Fania Records, |
| 1:04.0 | was the source of that music revolution. |
| 1:07.3 | Vocalists, instrumentalists, composers, producers, even the sound engineers and the people who designed the album covers Felix created an aesthetic that has influenced |
| 1:15.6 | We can't even name how many musicians today |
| 1:19.1 | So what we're gonna do is look back at those early days of Fania and Willie Colon's earliest and most influential recordings with a very special guide. |
| 1:30.8 | Okay, people, let's go. |
| 1:32.1 | Ready? |
| 1:37.0 | Trombonist Papo Vasquez is joining us this week. |
| 1:40.1 | Papo was not only inspired to play the trombone by Willie Colon, but he also played on some of the albums that old school salsa fans considered must-haves. |
| 1:49.0 | Papo's main inspiration to become a musician was when he saw Willie Colon and Hector Laval in the basement of his local church in the 1970s. |
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