Bad Bunny paused his performance in São Paulo, Brazil, Saturday night (Feb. 21) to acknowledge the death of Willie Colón, the legendary salsa musician and leader behind many of the most influential salsa records in Latin music.
Colón passed at age 75. His longtime manager, Pietro Carlos, confirmed the news of his death earlier on Saturday, noting, “Willie didn’t just change salsa. 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.”
Bad Bunny mourned the loss with his audience at Allianz Parque, but told the São Paulo crowd of music fans that Colón’s impact will live on.
“Today, one of the legends who contributed to this beautiful and legendary genre passed away,” Benito is heard saying (in Spanish) in a fan-filmed video uploaded to Instagram on Saturday, the second of two nights he headlined the stadium on his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour. “So, on behalf of myself and Los Sobrinos, we wish Willie Colón peace. Much strength to his family. The inspiration of so many of these great musicians who left their mark on this earth will never die as long as there are talented young people like those here, keeping the music, salsa and all Caribbean rhythms alive.”
Colón was a pioneer in salsa with a stacked list of hits, from “Ché Ché Colé” and “Aguanile,” recorded with Héctor Lavoe, to the album Celia and Willie alongside Celia Cruz, to Siembra, the album he recorded with Ruben Blades that became the biggest-selling salsa set of all time.
Bad Bunny — whose “DtMF” recently soared to No. 1 on the Hot 100 after his Super Bowl performance, and who jets to Sydney, Australia, next on his world tour — was among a number of prominent names in Latin music to pay tribute to Colón on Saturday.
In a post shared on Instagram, Blades, with whom Colón had formed a legendary duo, sent heartfelt condolences to Colón’s wife and family. He promised more words would come: “Later, and with calm, I will write about Willie and his vital and important musical legacy.”
“Personally, your art inspired and guided me: it taught me that culture can also be modern, that creativity has no limits, that popular music can be sophisticated, and that music, when made with truth, lasts forever,” said Rauw Alejandro, whose own Cosa Nuestra album was inspired by Colón’s of the same title.
Fania Records, the label that signed Colón when he was just 15 years old, said in a statement on Saturday: “We are heartbroken by the passing of an icon whose sound transcended the dance floor and defined an era. A pillar of Fania Records, Willie helped bring Latin music from the streets of New York to audiences around the world. His music declared identity, pride, resistance, and joy. His music was not just heard; it was lived.”
