Asalto Navideño
Asalto Navideño is a Christmas album by American musicians Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe. It was released by Fania Records in 1970.
Background and release
Colón hired Puerto Rican musician Yomo Toro to play cuatro on the album, which gave a boost to his career. John Bush of AllMusic noted that Toro's presence on the album gave it a jíbaro feel, which "any Puerto Rican native or person with heritage would recognize and appreciate during the Christmas season".Colón and Lavoe released a second Christmas album in 1973, entitled Asalto Navideño Vol. II. The album again featured Toro playing the cuatro, and he also appeared on the cover dressed as Santa Claus. Both albums were later re-released together.
The track "La Murga" was a particular hit, and was later covered by with Los Melódicos.
Critical reception
The album was named one of the 50 greatest salsa albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in October 2024.Personnel
- Willie Colón – leader, trombone, chorus vocals
- Héctor Lavoe – lead vocals
- William "Sweet" Campbell – trombone
- Milton Cardona – congas, percussion
- José Mangual Jr. – bongos, percussion
- Johnny Pacheco – percussion, chorus vocals
- Prof. Joe Torres – piano
- Louie "Timbalito" Romero – timbales
- Santi "Choflomo" González – bass
- Yomo Toro – cuatro
- Roberto García – cuatro
- Miguel "El Túnel" Matos – "band boy", minor percussion
- Justo Betancourt – chorus vocals
- Jerry Masucci – production
- Johnny Pacheco – recording
- Irv Greenbaum – engineering
- Elliot Sachs – cover location
- Izzy Sanabria – design
- Len Bauman – photography