We're remembering Willie Colón, the pioneering Nuyorican trombonist who was a key figure in the rise of Fania Records and New York-based salsa. Marisol Negrón, author of Made in NuYoRico: Fania Records, Latin Music, and Salsa’s Nuyorican Meanings, joins Rebecca to discuss Colón's contributions, collaborations with Hector Lavoe, and his complex legacy as an artist whose politics were seemingly at odds with the persona he created, "El Malo," early on in his career.

Songs played:

"El Malo"

"Canto a Borinquen"

"El Cantante"

"El Gran Varón"

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions