Feliz Navidad

José Feliciano wrote "Feliz Navidad" in 1970, homesick in Los Angeles and missing his family back east and in Puerto Rico. He reportedly cut it in ten minutes at RCA Studios. The whole song is nineteen words, six Spanish and thirteen English, which is much of why it travels so well. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.

Who is José Feliciano?

José Feliciano was born in Lares, Puerto Rico, in 1945. Blind from birth due to congenital glaucoma, he moved with his family to New York City as a child and began playing guitar at a young age. By his teens, he was performing in Greenwich Village coffeehouses. His breakthrough came in 1968 with a Latin-flavoured cover of The Doors' "Light My Fire," which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

That same year, Feliciano caused controversy by performing a soulful, personalised rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1968 World Series, one of the first non-traditional performances of the national anthem at a major sporting event.

Why did he write Feliz Navidad?

In 1970, Feliciano was living in Los Angeles, far from his Puerto Rican roots and his family on the East Coast. Feeling homesick during the holiday season, he wanted to write a Christmas song that would bridge the gap between his Latin heritage and his American life. The result was a song that seamlessly blends Spanish and English, expressing a universal wish for happiness during the holidays.

The genius of "Feliz Navidad" lies in its simplicity. The entire song uses fewer than twenty unique words, making it easy for anyone to sing along regardless of whether they speak Spanish or English. The repetitive chorus, "Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, prospero ano y felicidad," is catchy enough to learn in a single hearing.

How popular is the song?

"Feliz Navidad" has become one of the most-played Christmas songs in the world. It appears on virtually every holiday playlist and compilation album, and it consistently ranks among the top-streamed Christmas songs each December. In the United States, it has become as much a part of the holiday soundtrack as "Jingle Bells" or "White Christmas," and its bilingual nature has helped it cross cultural boundaries in a way few other holiday songs have achieved.