Willie Colón received a final farewell on Monday morning (March 9) in his hometown of New York City, where family, friends and fans gathered at a public funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to honor the legendary salsa pioneer.
The event took place after a weekend of private and public visitation, according to the Associated Press, which noted that the burial would be private. The funeral was livestreamed through St. Patrick’s Cathedral’s website and YouTube channel, where a recording was available.
“He left a giant shadow,” said Diego Colón, one of his four children, during the first eulogy. “The whole world was changed by his music … those who truly knew him were changed by his love.”
Another of his sons, Alejandro Miguel Colón, revealed that his father always dreamed of having his funeral at the famous cathedral. “We got it done,” he said.
A trombonist, arranger, bandleader and producer, Colón — who was born in the Bronx — passed away on Feb. 21 at the age of 75. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
“Willie didn’t just change salsa,” his manager Pietro Carlos wrote when confirming the news on social media. “He expanded it, politicized it, clothed it in urban chronicles and took it to stages where it hadn’t been before. His trombone was the voice of the people.”
A key figure in the evolution of salsa music, Colón was instrumental in bringing the genre from the neighborhoods of New York to global recognition. At just 16 years old, he began his career with the release of El Malo, his 1967 debut album, recorded alongside Héctor Lavoe.
In the 1970s, Colón became a pillar of the salsa revolution. Alongside Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco and Bobby Valentín, he recorded the live album Fania All Stars at the Cheetah in 1973, a concert featuring artists from the Fania Records label that helped catapult salsa to international prominence, following in the footsteps of great genre pioneers such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz.
On the Billboard charts, his legacy spans more than 40 years, beginning in 1985 with Criollo, which reached No. 18 on Top Tropical Albums, and continuing up to this week with Greatest Hits, currently at No. 3 on the same ranking. Among his biggest hits are “Idilio,” “La Murga” and “Calle Luna, Calle Sol.”
