Papa Michigan, Yelsy Heredia release ‘The Christmas Song’ in Spanish and English

This holiday season, Anthony Fairclough aka Papa Michigan, has released a main version plus a bilingual Spanish remix of the classic The Christmas Song. The main single is entirely in English while the remix is in Spanish and English.

Collaborator Yelsy Heredia – originally from Guantánamo, Cuba, and now residing in Madrid, Spain – is a Latin-Grammy nominated bassist-arranger who sings in Spanish on the remix track alongside Papa Michigan. The result is a danceable, bilingual version of the all-time classic song made famous as sung by Nat King Cole.

Both versions were produced and arranged by Los Angeles-based artiste Emaginario, who in the remix version included Spanish guitars, syncopated claps, Afro-Cuban vocalisations by Yelsy, and soca-infused ‘Parang’ strumming often found in Trinidad during the Christmas season.

After hearing the arrangement and observing how it showcased a Caribbean-based, yet faithful interpretation to the classic song, Yelsy Heredia agreed to collaborate on the project, resulting in a joyously positive union of Cuban and Jamaican culture for the holiday.

Papa Michigan rose to fame as one of the original dancehall and dub stars to come out of Jamaica. He is most remembered as half of the duo, Michigan and Smiley, who came out with numerous hits in the era of Studio One, Clement Dodd, and Henry Junjo Lawes.

These singles were released on digital platforms on December 1.

He shared that there are no current touring plans around the release, just the desire for the song to be enjoyed in homes around the Caribbean during this holiday season.