A New ‘Feliz Navidad’ from Musical Star Jose Feliciano

 

José Feliciano is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his beloved Christmas song Feliz Navidad by releasing a new version. The song is still sung in English and Spanish.

But many popular artists appear in the new version, including Jason Mraz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Shaggy. Pop musician Michael Bolton, Latin boy band CNCO, country band Big & Rich, and Mexican singer and actress Patricia Manterola are also among the 30 acts who teamed to create the new Feliz Navidad.

All the artists recorded their parts separately to stay socially distant.

Amazon Music released the final creation. The many artists from different backgrounds and musical genres¹ is in keeping with Feliciano's goals for the song, past and present.

"The idea of Feliz Navidad was to try and unite the people," the award winning artist said. "My thought when I wrote the song was that it didn't matter what language you were singing in, the feeling of Christmas is privy³ to all of us."

The song has only 20 words in all - six in Spanish and 14 in English. The 75-year-old Feliciano says that back in 1970, he never imagined it would become a holiday hit.

"I would have to say it fulfills⁴ a dream," he said in an interview over Zoom⁶ from his home in Connecticut. "I had the dream in my mind, but that's as far as it went until I wrote Feliz Navidad."

Feliciano has been celebrating the 50-year anniversary on social media by posting old pictures and stories. The song has appeared on Billboard⁷ magazine's Hot 100 list repeatedly over the years. It became one of the most played and recorded Christmas songs around the world.

The song was part of his 1970 self-titled holiday album, later renamed Feliz Navidad. He said he wanted to do a song that, in his words, "really told the story of the savior's birth in a way that was musical and people could get behind it."

The 75-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has been blind since birth. A documentary film about Feliciano's life is expected to be released next year. Behind This Guitar tells about his path from poverty in Puerto Rico and New York to performing at the Vatican's Christmas celebration.

Feliciano said he dealt with difficult conditions in his life.

"I came from a foreign land, I had no vision, or at least I thought I didn't — until I found out that I did have a vision and that I saw things the way they should be seen."

Feliciano will hold a December 20 show featuring Feliz Navidad and other Christmas songs livestreamed from his home.

Words in This Story

genre² – n. a particular kind or category of literature or art

privy – adj. admitted as one sharing in a secret

fulfill⁵ – v. to succeed in achieving (something) : to make (something, such as a dream) true or real

blind – adj. unable to see

savior – n. someone who saves something or someone from danger, harm, failure, etc. Used by Christians⁸ to refer to Jesus Christ

vision – n. the act or power of seeing

1 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

2 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

3 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

4 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句

5 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

6 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

7 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

8 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。