Day 2 – Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe – La Murga

This song is from the album Asalto Navideño from 1971 (which translates as ‘Christmas Assault’, and that has got to be the best title for a Christmas album ever!). It is their take on Panamanian carnival band music and is absolutely huge in South America. I had to do a little bit of research to find out why a latin salsa song is such a huge hit at Christmas. Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe lived in New York and were part of the pioneering salsa scene there, but Héctor Lavoe was actually born in Puerto Rico (which is also where Willie Colón’s family were from, but he was born in New York). The ‘murga’ is a traditional orchestra from South America of around 15 to 20 musicians that is comprised of trumpets, trombone, drums and other percussion instruments, and they are used during Carnivals where they can sometimes play for four days in a row. In countries like Panama and Puerto Rico, it is a custom that the murgas play over Christmas.The murga can play without a stage, and they move from one place to another. The trumpets on this song kick ass (I imagine they have been sampled many times), and this song just makes you want to move! What finer way to celebrate Christmas than by having a carnival and dancing to this fabulous song? Mental note – I need to celebrate at least one Christmas in South America…