Willie Colón and Rubén Blades. Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow and Eddie Palmieri, to name a few. But the imprint that defined the identity of an entire genre eventually succumbed — like salsa ...

Like his friend Hector, Willie Colon's roots lay in Puerto Rico, and we see how they both helped transform that island's folk sounds into full-blooded Salsa, with The Fania All Stars band in New York.

When the song was released in 1989, originally performed by singer Willie Colón, it was banned from radio stations because of its content, but quickly became a salsa classic that spoke to a ...