Christmas

It's Christmas, and José Nogueras brings us his album #40 with "La Vivo y La Gozo". The long-awaited Christmas production includes nine songs to celebrate the holidays. Music in "La Vivo y La Gozo". The music in "La Vivo y La Gozo" is…

Salsa music icon Victor Manuelle brings us his second Christmas music album with "Memorias de Navidad". The audio-visual project takes us through a virtual memory lane of all things important for a good Puerto Rican Christmas. "Memorias de…

The new Christmas special from Banco Popular "Tiempos de Aguinaldo" is here, and the two critics in my household are not too enthused about it. "Tiempos de Aguinaldo" Theme As the title implies, the theme for the 2019 Christmas…

In the United States and Puerto Rico, the Thanksgiving holiday marks the beginning of the Christmas season. In Puerto Rico, this will go on until mid-January with the "Octavitas", which should really be called the "Octavas", and then…

Since I was 12 years old, Willie Colon's "Asalto Navideño" was the 1st album I played to celebrate the arrival of the Christmas season. "Asalto Navideño": My Favorite Christmas Classic Since then, "Asalto Navideño" became my way…

In Puerto Rico, the period after the 3 Kings Day ("Día de los Santos Reyes Magos") is known as the "Octavitas". This tradition has changed through the decades. Unfortunately, it has been rapidly fading away. Therefore, it's worth taking…

The "Aguinaldo" is a cultural tradition that defines Christmas in Latin America. It's a legacy we inherited from Spain and could be in the form of a musical or a monetary "gift". In this blog I'll provide a brief summary on the origin…

The Puerto Rican tradition of "parrandas", also known as an "asalto navideño" seems to be in steady decline. Although there are pockets where the tradition is still alive, the general Puerto Rican population is seeing less "parrandas".…

This Christmas season is now in full swing and Latinos are playing their favorite Christmas albums. One Salsa album and one Puerto Rican folk album from 2012 have great Christmas Latin music if you missed them last year. Ismael Miranda:…