Willie Colón, architect of urban salsa music, dies

Willie Colón, the Grammy-nominated architect of urban salsa music and social activist, has died at the age of 75.

Over his decades-long career, the trombonist, composer, arranger and singer produced more than 40 albums that sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

He collaborated with a wide range of artists, including the Fania All Stars, David Byrne and Celia Cruz.

His celebrated collaboration with Rubén Blades, Siembra, became one of the bestselling salsa albums of all time, and the pair were known for addressing social issues through the genre.

Colón's family and manager confirmed his death through social media posts.

"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," manager Pietro Carlos wrote.

"His trombone was the voice of the people, an echo of the Caribbean in New York, a bridge between two cultures."

Colón, who was nominated for 10 Grammys and one Latin Grammy, made famous songs such as El gran varón, Sin poderte hablar, Casanova, Amor verdad and Oh, qué será.

Blades said on X he was "reluctant to believe" his collaborator had died and offered his condolences to Colón's family.

In 2004 the Latin Recording Academy awarded Colón a special Grammy for his career and contributions to music.

As a community leader, Colón fought for civil rights.

He was part of the Hispanic Arts Association, the Latino Commission on AIDS, the Arthur Schomburg Coalition for a Better New York and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, among others.

In 1991 he was honoured with the Chubb fellowship from Yale University, a public service recognition also awarded to the likes of John F Kennedy, Moshe Dayan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Ronald Reagan, among others.

He served as special assistant to David Dinkins, New York's first Black mayor and was later appointed special assistant and adviser to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Colón had little luck running for public office himself, however.

He failed in a challenge to Eliot Engel in the 1994 Democratic primary, and in 2001 came in third in the Democratic primary for New York's public advocate.

He backed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008, but he told the Observer he voted for Donald Trump in 2016.

His friendship with Blades ruptured after Colón sued for breach of contract over the 2003 concert Siembra ... 25 years later, held in Puerto Rico.

He also sparked a controversy when he called the then-president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, "rotten".

Colón acted in films such as Vigilante, The Last Fight and It Could Happen to You, and on TV in Miami Vice and Demasiado Corazón.

More recently he appeared in Bad Bunny's music video for NuevaYol.

He is survived by his wife and four sons.