Asalto Navideño
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Asalto Navideño | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Length | 32:18 | |||
| Label | Fania | |||
| Producer | Jerry Masucci | |||
| Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe chronology | ||||
| ||||
Asalto Navideño (Spanish for "Christmas Assault") is a Christmas album by American musicians Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe. It was released by Fania Records in 1970.
Colón hired Puerto Rican musician Yomo Toro to play cuatro on the album, which gave a boost to his career.[1] John Bush of AllMusic noted that Toro's presence on the album gave it a jíbaro feel, which "any Puerto Rican native or person with heritage would recognize and appreciate during the Christmas season".[2]
Colón and Lavoe released a second Christmas album in 1973, entitled Asalto Navideño Vol. II. The album again featured Toro playing the cuatro, and he also appeared on the cover dressed as Santa Claus.[1] Both albums were later re-released together.[3]
The track "La Murga" was a particular hit,[4] and was later covered by Víctor Piñero with Los Melódicos.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| AllMusic (reissue with vol. 2) | [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| MusicHound World |  [7] |
The album was named one of the 50 greatest salsa albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in October 2024.[8]