PUERTO RICO: Feliz Navidad - José Feliciano
This is probably one of our favourite Christmas songs of all time. If you want to host a Christmas party and wish to get your guests dancing, then your best bet is to head over to your sound system and pop on José Feliciano’s classic Christmas single Feliz Navidad. Feliciano bridges the gap between Latin and Western culture, which is appropriate when one considers his place of origin. He does this by merging the sound of an acoustic guitar with a cuatro (a type of Puerto Rican lute). The song fuses not only instruments, but also a range of styles as it straddles between jazz, blues, and rock. By singing in both English and Spanish, he reaches out across the aisle to his American counterparts. Whilst Feliciano’s single is synonymous with the festival, he is not the only singer from his homeland to contribute great music to the festivities. You can check out our review of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe’s Asalto Navideño here.