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<\/a>WILLIE COL\u00d3N\u2019S FAMILY announce his death on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, via social media\u00a0
Photo courtesy of the family of Willie Col\u00f3n via social media<\/p>\nTributes started to circulate throughout Saturday, with Grammy-nominated musician, Bobby Sanabria, writing simply, \u201cREST IN POWER\u201d in response to the news of Col\u00f3n\u2019s death. Indeed, many of the artists who have performed at The Bronx\u2019s Lehman Center for the Performing Arts mention in their biographies how they played with Col\u00f3n over the course of their careers, including legendary salsa musician and Fania Records co-founder, Johnny Pacheco, known as the \u201cGodfather of Salsa,\u201d who died Feb. 15, 2021, at the age of 85.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James said of Col\u00f3n, \u201cFrom his music, to his time serving his communities, Willie Col\u00f3n was a Bronx legend, and his legacy will live on. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For her part, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said, \u201cWillie Col\u00f3n was a Nuyorican legend, artist and organizer who influenced generations of salsa and Latin jazz musicians. A Bronx native and Bronx Walk of Fame inductee who leaves behind a legacy of cultural pride, political consciousness, and groundbreaking sound. May he Rest in Peace and Power.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE SCENE OUTSIDE New York Presbyterian Hospital in Westchester County in Bronxville, NY on Saturday night, Feb. 21, 2026, where salsa legend Willie Col\u00f3n reportedly died earlier the same day. Video by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
Bronx resident and freelance photographer with the Norwood News, Miriam Qui\u00f1ones, said of the late musician, \u201cHe was a big legend. My mother used to play his music when we used to go to family gatherings. They used to play salsa. We went to clubs and everyone would be looking more at him, and not dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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There was no sign of fans outside the hospital on Saturday evening, and hospital representatives declined to comment as to whether Col\u00f3n had been a patient or whether his remains were still on site.<\/p>\n
THE SOUND OF Latin music is heard at an upstairs venue on East Gun Hill Road near near Hull Avenue on Saturday night, Feb. 21, 2026, as Hispanic Bronxites celebrate the birthday of an 18-year-old girl on the same day that salsa legend Willie Col\u00f3n dies. Video by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
Later on Saturday night Latin (though not all salsa) music was heard streaming from an upstairs venue in the Norwood section of The Bronx where a birthday party for an 18-year-old girl was being celebrated. When asked for her reaction, speaking in Spanish, one guest, Viviana, said she was not familiar with Col\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
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Meanwhile, when asked if Col\u00f3n was well known throughout Latin America, speaking in Spanish, a Mexican man, estimated to be in his late thirties who declined to be identified, said he had been, adding, \u201cI first got to hear about him when when I was maybe around 16,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Funeral details for Col\u00f3n are yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>WILLIE COL\u00d3N, AMERICAN, salsa musician and social activist died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, aged 75, reportedly in Westchester County.\u00a0\u00a0