Willie Colón

Willie Colón (born April 28, 1950, Bronx, New York, U.S.—died February 21, 2026) was an American trombonist, composer, bandleader, and activist who helped to popularize salsa music in the United States in the 1970s. Born into a Puerto Rican household and raised in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood of the Bronx, Colón was immersed in the arts and culture—and the hardships—of urban Hispanic America throughout his childhood and youth. This environment was a powerful force...