Llegó Navidad

Llegó Navidad is a 2019 Christmas album from American Chicano rock band Los Lobos. The album is a diverse collection of songs that has received commercial and critical success.

Llegó Navidad
A Christmas tree with decorations standing in a street
Studio album by
Los Lobos
ReleasedOctober 4, 2019 (2019-10-04)[1]
RecordedJuly 2019[2]
StudioNest Recorders, Los Angeles, California, United States
GenreChicano rock
Length40:23
LanguageEnglish, Spanish
LabelRhino Records
ProducerLos Lobos
Los Lobos chronology
Gates of Gold
(2015)		 Llegó Navidad
(2019)		 Native Sons
(2021)

Recording and release

Rhino Records approached the band with the prospect of recording a studio album,[2] which was an idea they had debated before, without recording one.[3] Los Lobos reached out to song collectors and friends to gather a body of music that included 147 Latin Christmas songs (including one original tune), spanning several decades and the entirety of the Americas, across genres or styles as diverse as cumbia, cancion, ranchera, salsa, son jarocho, and Tex-Mex styles.[3][4][5] The band promoted the album with live performances of Christmas songs interspersed with their regular material while on tour.[6]

Reception

Critical reception

The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide scored this album 4.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Mark Deming calling this a "fresh and interesting" take on standard Christmas albums that includes diverse styles and genres that displays the "passion, skill, and joy" that the band has fostered for decades.[4] In The Arts Desk, Russ Coffey rated Llegó Navidad three out of five stars, noting that the band mixes not only genres but also moods that range from serious to silly.[7] Writing for the Associated Press, John Rogers calls this album "a holiday recording pretty much like no other".[8] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of Financial Times scored this album four out of five stars, noting that the diverse Latin music is a "welcome twist" on the Christmas album theme.[9]

A Rolling Stone overview of 2019 Christmas albums by Connor Ratliff highly recommends Llegó Navidad, in part due to introducing the author to new music.[10] In 2022, Stephanie Kaloi wrote a listing of the 25 best Christmas albums of all time for Entertainment Weekly and included this one, writing that although it is not as familiar as some of the other music on her list, "within a few spins, each track became just as familiar as the holiday hits we've loved for years".[11]

Sales chart performance

Llegó Navidad was the first top 10 album on the Billboard charts in 19 years, debuting at eight on the Latin Pop Albums chart.[12]

Track listing
  1. "La Rama" (traditional, arranged by Los Lobos) – 3:33
  2. "Reluciente Sol" (traditional, arranged by Los Lobos) – 2:46
  3. "It's Christmas Time in Texas" (Freddy Fender) – 2:51
  4. "Amarga Navidad" (José Alfredo Jiménez) – 2:54
  5. "Arbolito de Navidad" (José Barros) – 4:01
  6. "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?" (Al Greiner, Rod Parker, and George Scheck) – 4:05
  7. "Llegó Navidad" (Javier Vázquez) – 4:00
  8. "Las Mañanitas" (traditional, arranged by Los Lobos) – 2:31
  9. "La Murga" (Willie Colón and Héctor "Lavoe" Pérez) – 4:06
  10. "Christmas and You" (David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez) – 3:35
  11. "Regalo de Reyes" (David Lama) – 3:09
  12. "Feliz Navidad" (José Feliciano) – 2:58

Personnel

Los Lobos

Additional musicians

  • Josh Baca – accordion
  • Jason Lozano – durms
  • Alfredo "El Nino" Ortiz – congas, bongos, percussion
  • Marcos J. Reyes – congas, timbales, percussion
  • Chris Sorem – Omnichord, recording, mixing

Technical personnel

  • Gustavo Arellano – curation and research
  • Piero F. Giunti – photography
  • Grant Hier – liner notes
  • Jeremy Leung – recording and mixing assistance
  • Jon Luini – video
  • Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering at Echo Studio, Los Angeles, California, United States
  • Al Quattrocchi – art direction
  • Louie Pérez – art direction
  • ZZ Satriani – video
  • Jeff Smith – art direction
  • Tornado Creative – design
  • Pablo Yglesias – curation and research

See also

References
  1. "Los Lobos Llego Navidad – The Band's First Holiday Album Available October 4 From Rhino". Rhino Records. October 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  2. Martin, Michel (December 21, 2019). "Los Lobos Talk New Christmas Album Llegó Navidad". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  3. "Los Lobos Welcome The Holiday Season With New Album 'Llegó Navidad'". WBUR. December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  4. Deming, Mark. "Los Lobos – Llego Navidad". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  5. Paumgarten, Nick (December 9, 2019). "Shopping for Christmas Tunes with Los Lobos". Here for the Holidays. The New Yorker. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  6. Schwartz, George M. (January 24, 2020). "Los Lobos Rock The Fillmore for "Bill's 89th Birthday Bash"". PopMatters. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  7. Coffey, Russ (December 9, 2019). "CD: Los Lobos – Llegó Navidad". The Arts Desk. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  8. Rogers, John (December 19, 2019). "Album Review: Ne-Yo, Lea Michele, Los Lobos and Chicago". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  9. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (December 20, 2019). "Los Lobos: Llegó Navidad — holiday hits from the Spanish-speaking diaspora". Financial Times. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  10. Ratliff, Connor (December 23, 2019). "89 New Christmas Albums of 2019, Reviewed". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  11. Kaloi, Stephanie (December 16, 2022). "The 25 best Christmas albums of all time". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  12. Bustios, Pamela (December 18, 2019). "Los Lobos Score First Top 10 on a Billboard Latin Albums Chart Since 2000". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
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