Willie Colón
Willie Colón was born in The Bronx, New York, United States on April 28th, 1950 and is the World Music Singer. At the age of 73, Willie Colón biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 73 years old, Willie Colón physical status not available right now. We will update Willie Colón's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.
William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa guitarist and social activist.
He started his career as a tromboneist and now writes, produces, and appears.
He is also active in New York City politics.
Early years
Colón was born in the South Bronx in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. He started playing trumpet from a youth and later switched to trombone, inspired by Mon Rivera and Barry Rogers' all-trombone sound. He spent some summers at his maternal grandmother's farm in Manat, Puerto Rico's outskirts, on the road to neighboring Ciales, Puerto Rico.
He was signed to Fania Records at the age of 15, and at 17, he released his first album, which has sold more than 300,000 copies. Johnny Pacheco, the country's top record producer, recommended Héctor Lavoe to him.
He has appeared in films, including roles in Vigilante (1983), The Last Fight (1983), Miami Vice (1987) and It Could Happen to You (1994).
Colón has been a social justice, neighborhood, and political activist since the age of 16. He has been a member of the Arthur Schomburg Campaign on AIDS and President of a Better New York and member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Mr. Colón was the first person of color to serve on the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) national board in 1995, replacing Stephen Sondheim, and he was also a member of the ASCAP Foundation.
Personal life
Willie Colon is married. Colón and his wife, Julia Colón, were involved in a serious automobile crash while driving a recreational vehicle through North Carolina's Outer Banks on April 20, 2021. Colón was evacuated to a hospital in Virginia due to lacerations and a head injury.
Music career
He has worked as a composer, arranger, and guitarist, as well as later as a producer and director. His collection, which blends elements of jazz, rock, and salsa, incorporates African descendants' traditional music from African descendants in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, essentially a one-way movement from Puerto Rico to New York-based diaspora. "His life and music commute in the Bronx and his ancestral Puerto Rico have pushed back and forth between his homeland in the Bronx and his ancestral Puerto Rico," the Bronx's and his ancestral Puerto Rico's more casual stop-offs in other musical zones of the Caribbean." Colón "has made the connection between diaspora and the Caribbean homeland the central theme of his art," he says on his 1971 Christmas album, Asalto Navideo. "Enact the diaspora's addressing the island culture in a complex, loving, but at the same time mildly demanding way."
He went on to have numerous fruitful relationships with other salsa artists and performers, including Ismael Miranda, Celia Cruz, Soledad Bravo, and singer-songwriter Rubén Blades. Colón claims to have set the "all time record for sales in the Salsa genre" on his website [having] produced 40 productions that have sold more than 30 million copies around the world."
Colón's music, which incorporates many cultures and styles, is an investigation of Puerto Ricans' competing associations with their homeland and the United States. He uses his songs to explore and analyze the challenges of being a Puerto Rican in the United States mainland, as well as the cultural contributions that Puerto Ricans must make.
Colón filed a lawsuit against Ruben Blades in May 2007 for breach of contract. A string of lawsuits and countersuits spanned more than five years. Blades' former agent, Robert J. Morgalo, wrote "Decisiones" which delves into the inside story of the legal war and was published in both English and Spanish in 2016. The court papers can be viewed here, as well as full transcripts of depositions and court decisions can be found here.
Colón's "Amor de Internet" and "Corazón Partido" are two singles to advertise for his album El Malo Vol II: Prisioneros del Mambo. Colón's 50th Anniversary Tour began in 2016. Colón's forthcoming book Barrio de Guapos (The Unknown Life of Willie Colón) and the unveiling of his record label Willie Colón were announced in 2017. Colón's "Rumba Del Siglo" (Jam of the Century) World Tour debuted in the United States, Latin America, and Europe in 2018 to mostly sold-out venues. Colón will continue "Rumba Del Siglo 2019" (Jam of the Century 2019), owing to the great success of his previous tours.