''Asalto Navideño'' is a

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

by American musicians

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

and

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

. It was released by

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York City, New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964 in music, 1964. The label took its name from a popular luncheonette fre ...

in 1970.

Background and release

Colón hired Puerto Rican musician

Yomo Toro Víctor Guillermo "Yomo" Toro (26 July 1933 – 30 June 2012) was a Puerto Rican left-handed guitarist and cuatro player. Known internationally as "The King of the Cuatro," Toro recorded over 150 albums throughout a 60-year career and worked exte ...

to play

cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...

on the album, which gave a boost to his career. John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that Toro's presence on the album gave it a

jíbaro Jivaro or Jibaro, also spelled Hivaro or Hibaro, may refer to: * Jíbaro (Puerto Rico), mountain-dwelling peasants in Puerto Rico * Jíbaro music, a Puerto Rican musical genre * Jivaroan peoples, indigenous peoples in northern Peru and eastern ...

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 Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. 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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known ...

'' in October 2024.

Track listing

Personnel

– leader, trombone, chorus vocals *

– lead vocals *William "Sweet" Campbell – trombone * Milton Cardona – congas, percussion * José Mangual Jr. – bongos, percussion *

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New ...

– percussion, chorus vocals *Prof. Joe Torres – piano *Louie "Timbalito" Romero – timbales *Santi "Choflomo" González – bass *

– cuatro *Roberto García – cuatro *Miguel "El Túnel" Matos – "band boy", minor percussion * Justo Betancourt – chorus vocals Technical * Jerry Masucci – production *Johnny Pacheco – recording *Irv Greenbaum – engineering Artistic *Elliot Sachs – cover location *Izzy Sanabria – design *Len Bauman – photography

References

{{Authority control Willie Colón albums Héctor Lavoe albums Albums produced by Jerry Masucci 1970 Christmas albums Fania Records albums 1970s Spanish-language albums Christmas albums by Puerto Rican artists