Feliz Navidad

Jose Felicana

Feliz Navidad is described as a macaronic Christmas song, meaning the text uses a mixture of languages.

The song was written in 1970 by José Feliciano, a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.

José Feliciano, told Billboard magazine: “If I had left in Spanish only, then I knew the English stations might not play it, so I decided to write an English lyric, ‘I want to wish you a merry Christmas.’ And then there was no way the stations could lock that song out of the programming.”

Wikipedia says, “it has become a classic Christmas pop song in the United States, throughout the Spanish-speaking world and internationally.”  The song is one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs.

The song has been recorded by numerous artists including Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Clay Walker and David Hasselhoff to name a few.

“I never would have thought that I would have created a monster with this song,” Feliciano told Billboard magazine.  “If it brings joy to your heart, the song has done what it is supposed to do,” Feliciano adds.

Feliz Navidad is in the Grammy Hall of Fame.