Pedro Navaja
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades · 1978 · from the album Siembra · written by Rubén Blades
Salsa with something to say: the track from the best-selling salsa album that made city stories a salsa tradition.
- trombone
- coro and soneo
- montuno
Why it matters
Siembra came out on Fania Records in 1978. It paired trombonist and bandleader Willie Colón with the Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades, and Colón produced it. It's generally counted as the best-selling salsa album of its time, with sales reported at over three million copies.
Blades wrote Pedro Navaja, and Fania put it out as a single in 1979. It showed that a salsa hit could carry a long story and a social point of view, not only love and dance floor talk. That style became known as salsa consciente, and many later salsa songwriters followed.
What to listen for
- Willie Colón's trombone sound, the one he built his band around: it answers and pushes the voice instead of playing a showy solo.
- The montuno near the end, where a short coro repeats and Rubén Blades improvises over it. In most salsa the montuno is where the energy lifts.
- How long the song is for a dance record: about seven minutes. Pace yourself on the floor.
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