{"id":158135,"date":"2026-03-09T17:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/158135\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T17:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:14:14","slug":"urban-salsa-music-pioneer-willie-colon-remembered-at-new-york-funeral-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/158135\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban salsa music pioneer Willie Col\u00f3n remembered at New York funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Family, friends and fans gathered Monday morning in New York to pay tribute to Willie Col\u00f3n, the Grammy-nominated architect of urban salsa music<\/a> and social activist who died last month<\/a> at 75.<\/p>\n

A public funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan, following a weekend of private and public visitations. His burial will be private.<\/p>\n

The trombonist, composer, arranger and singer born William Anthony Col\u00f3n Roman died on Feb. 21. The cause was not publicly announced. His family said he passed away peacefully surrounded by relatives at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Bronxville, New York, just north of New York City. According to the official funeral program, he is survived by his wife of 49 years, Julia Col\u00f3n Craig, their four sons William David (Rose) Col\u00f3n, Adam Diego Col\u00f3n, Alejandro Miguel (Nell) Col\u00f3n, Patrick Antonio Col\u00f3n, sister Isabell (Michael Johnson) Breston, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we grieve his absence, we also rejoice in the timeless gift of his music and the cherished memories that will live on forever,\u201d his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The funeral was livestreamed at https:\/\/www.saintpatrickscathedral.org\/<\/a> and YouTube.<\/a><\/p>\n

The mass, readings and songs were held in both Spanish and English. Here are some highlights.<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 Willie Colon accepts the award for best musica afroamericana at the Lunas del Auditorio Nacional awards ceremony in Mexico City, Oct. 31, 2018. Col\u00f3n, considered by many to be the \u201carchitect of urban salsa,\u201d died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. He was 75. (AP Photo\/Claudio Cruz, File)\n<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 Singer and musician Willie Colon performs at The Climate Rally, an Earth Day concert, on the National Mall in Washington, April 25, 2010. Col\u00f3n, considered by many to be the \u201carchitect of urban salsa,\u201d died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. He was 75. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, File)\n<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 Legendary salsa musician Willie Colon poses for a portrait in Mexico City, March 5, 2009. Col\u00f3n, considered by many to be the \u201carchitect of urban salsa,\u201d died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. He was 75. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull, File)\n<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 Willie Colon plays the trombone while performing the song \u201cLa Murga\u201d during a tribute concert in honor of the late salsa music pioneer Hector Lavoe in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 7, 2007. Col\u00f3n, considered by many to be the \u201carchitect of urban salsa,\u201d died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. He was 75. (AP Photo\/Andres Leighton, File)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 Willie Colon accepts the award for best musica afroamericana at the Lunas del Auditorio Nacional awards ceremony in Mexico City, Oct. 31, 2018. Col\u00f3n, considered by many to be the \u201carchitect of urban salsa,\u201d died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. He was 75. (AP Photo\/Claudio Cruz, File)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a>
\nLoving tributes from family and friends<\/p>\n

Diego Col\u00f3n, one of Willie\u2019s four sons, gave the first eulogy. \u201cHe left a giant shadow,\u201d he said. \u201cThe whole world was changed by his music \u2026 those who truly knew him were changed by his love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alejandro Miguel (Nell) Col\u00f3n, another son, took over, saying that Willie Col\u00f3n always dreamt of having his funeral at the famed St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral. \u201cWe got it done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Joking about his father\u2019s political activism and support for law enforcement, he told the crowd that when he was a child, he used to tell people his dad was \u201chalf-singer and half-cop,\u201d adding that the last thing he ate was a small piece of raspberry dark chocolate.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of you, we all stand taller,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually learned what the trombone was because of him,\u201d Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat joked in his sermon, before adding that Col\u00f3n was a son of the Bronx, or Puerto Rico, but \u201cwhat is most important is that he is a son of God. And that\u2019s why we\u2019re gathered here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very important moment,\u201d he continued. \u201cI hope all of you leave today with hope that this is not the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrating a lifelong legacy<\/p>\n

Born in New York City\u2019s Bronx borough<\/a>, Col\u00f3n produced more than 40 albums that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including the Fania All Stars<\/a>, David Byrne and Celia Cruz.<\/p>\n

He was nominated for 10 Grammys<\/a> and one Latin Grammy and was known for songs including \u201cEl gran var\u00f3n,\u201d \u201cSin poderte hablar,\u201d \u201cCasanova,\u201d \u201cAmor verdad\u201d and \u201cOh, qu\u00e9 ser\u00e1.\u201d<\/p>\n

His manager, Pietro Carlos, wrote on social media that Col\u00f3n not only changed salsa, but also \u201cexpanded it, politicized it, clothed it in urban chronicles, and took it to stages where it hadn\u2019t been heard before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Col\u00f3n was also a community leader who fought for civil rights, mostly in the United States. He further dabbled in politics, serving as a special assistant to New York City Mayors David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg. In 1994, he lost his challenge to then-U. S. Rep. Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Family, friends and fans gathered Monday morning in New York to pay tribute to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56,23159,65319],"class_list":{"0":"post-158135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-willie-colon","14":"tag-willie-colon-funeral"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}