A Latin Christmas, now and then

“Anyone with roots in Latin America knows that spending the holidays there is special. The memory of drinking coquito, a coconut-flavored egg nog made in Puerto Rico, or forming a parranda roving musical party, a universal Latin American practice, makes you a little nostalgic for the old country. Back in the 1970s, Fania released a series of Christmas-themed albums for Latinos who wanted a little hometown flavor in their holiday season, and now Emusica is re-releasing the Fania catalog.

The most well-known of Fanias Christmas albums is “Asalto Navideño” 1970, a Willie Colón collaboration with Héctor Lavoe on vocals, Johnny Pacheco on vocals and percussion, and Milton Cardona and José Mangual Jr. on percussion. The rustic sound of the album is best remembered because of Yomo Toro, who plays the eight-stringed cuatro with a style somewhere between Arsenio Rodrí­guez and Jimi Hendrix.”

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