From church basement to salsa immortality: Remembering Willie Colón

Alt.Latino

NPR

Music

4.5 • 701 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Feb. 21, the musical world lost a legend and pioneer of salsa: Willie Colón.

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	Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
0:05.4	investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish.
0:11.1	More information is available at Hewlett.org.
0:24.2	From NPR music, this is Alt Latino.
0:25.4	I'm Felix Contreras.
0:26.9	And I'm Anna Maria Sayer.
0:28.4	Let the cheese win begin.
0:36.7	Okay, Anna, on February 21st, the music world lost one of the original architects of the earliest days of salsa,
0:39.4	legendary salsa musician and pioneer Willie Colon. In the late 1960s and through the 70s, the trombonist, bandleader, composer,
0:45.1	producer played a pivotal role in transforming Afro-Caribbean dance music into what became known
0:51.2	around the world as salsa. And Felix, music released on what was at the time,
0:56.2	the small independent upstart label, Fania Records,
0:59.3	was the source of that music revolution.
1:02.7	Vocalists, instrumentalists, composers, producers,
1:05.2	even the sound engineers and the people who designed the album covers,
1:08.9	Felix, created an aesthetic that has influenced,
1:11.6	we can't even name how many musicians today.
1:14.6	So what we're going to do is look back at those early days of Fania and Willie Colon's earliest and most influential recordings with a very special guide.
1:25.6	Okay, people, let's go.
1:27.8	You ready?
1:35.2	Trombonist Papo Vasquez is joining us this week.
1:38.7	Papo was not only inspired to play the trombone by Willie Colon,
	...

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