The last time I interviewed WIllie Colon was in 2023, when I was writing liner notes for a Vinyl Me Please edition of the classic album Hector Lavoe El Cantante (like other great albums of the New York salsa era, produced by Colón).

Sensing I would not have a chance to interview him again, After he answered my questions about the album, (over email) I asked him for his definition of salsa-I actually was surprised that he humored me, and he answered even that question that he must have asked so many times before. After learning of his death this morning, I thought of what he said:

“Salsa is not a rhythm; it is a concept. It is the reconciliation of all the things we are. I’m not only talking about music. It’s about the themes and stories of our lives. Salsa was a recipe of mixing many ingredients that became a “sauce” that over the past 50 years became a movement. Salsa will never die.”