GRAMMY-nominated salsa artist Willie Colón has died aged 75.
Heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the musical pioneer – with Bad Bunny calling the star “one of the legends who contributed to this beautiful and legendary genre”.
The iconic artist passed away on Saturday surrounded by loved ones, his manager confirmed.
Colón was a trombonist, composer, arranger, singer and social activist.
Over his decades-long career, he produced more than 40 albums that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
His manager Pietro Carlos said: “Today, We’ve lost an architect of the New York sound, a trombonist who made metal his banner and wrote eternal chapters in our musical history.
“Willie didn’t just change salsa; he expanded it, politicized it, clothed it in urban chronicles, and took it to stages where it hadn’t been heard before.
“His trombone was the voice of the people, an echo of the Caribbean in New York, a bridge between cultures.”
He added: “Today we say goodbye to a master, but his legacy lives on.”
Colón’s cause of death has not been confirmed, but Saturday’s tragic news follows reports from last week claiming that the star had been hospitalised for respiratory problems, according to TMZ.
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