Celia Cruz

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad de la Santísima Trinidad Cruz Alfonso (Havana, Cuba, October 21, 1925-Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States, July 16, 2003), better known as Celia Cruz, she was a Cuban-American tropical music singer. Nicknamed "La Reina de la Salsa" and "La Guarachera de Cuba", she is widely considered one of the most popular and important Latin artists of the century XX and an icon of Latin music. She was one of the greatest exponents of her genre, as well as one of the most influential artists in the music of her country.

Throughout her career, Celia Cruz interpreted and internationally popularized tropical rhythms such as son, son montuno, guaguancó, rumba, guaracha and bolero. However, the genre that she brought to stardom was salsa, a rhythm influenced by styles from different parts of the world.

He began his career in his native Cuba, gaining recognition as the vocalist of the popular musical ensemble La Sonora Matancera, a musical association that lasted for fifteen years (1950-1965). In 1960, after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Celia left her native country, and became one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. The singer continued her career, first in Mexico, and then in the United States. United States, a country that he took as his permanent residence. In the 1970s, she fully incorporated into the salsa genre, especially after her musical association with other artists of the genre within the Fania All Stars.

During the last years of her career, Celia Cruz had already become a legend of Latin American music. Her constant evolution in the world of music helped her remain in force practically until her death and conquer new generations of her followers. Her career formed an invaluable legacy and an inescapable reference for future generations who discovered in her an impressive and prolific source of inspiration. Some of her songs performed by her are part of the cultural heritage of Latin America. Among the most famous are "Quimbara", "Burundanga", "Que le den candela", "Life is a carnival", "La negra has tumbao" and the salsa version of "Yo viviré", among many others.. In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Life Is a Carnival" among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, at position 439.

His musical legacy consists of a total of 37 studio albums, in addition to many other special recordings, live albums or associations with other singers. Throughout her career, she has been awarded numerous awards, recognitions and distinctions, including two Grammys and three Latin Grammys. In addition to her prolific career in music, she also made some occasional appearances as an actress in movies and soap operas.

Celia Cruz also made famous the expression «¡Azúcar!», which she adopted and remained in the collective memory as her identifying phrase, which she shouted as a carnival announcement inciting fun. With a unique style and an iconic image of unsurpassed appeal, thanks to an unrepeatable charismatic and musical gift, Celia Cruz is considered an authentic symbol of Latino culture worldwide.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Celia Cruz was born in the Santos Suárez neighborhood of Havana. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railway stoker, and her mother, Catalina Alfonso Ramos, a housewife. Celia shared her childhood with her three siblings: Dolores, Gladys and Bárbaro and numerous cousins of hers. Her chores included lulling the little ones to sleep. She thus began to sing. She used to watch the dances and the orchestras through the windows of the singing cafes, and she couldn't wait to jump inside. However, only her mother approved of this hobby. Her father wanted her to be a school teacher, and not without regret she tried to satisfy him and she studied to be a teacher. When she was about to finish her degree, she dropped out to enter the National Conservatory of Music.

Meanwhile, Celia danced in the Havana corralas and participated in radio programs for amateurs, such as La hora del té or La corte suprema del arte, in which she obtained first prizes such as a cake or a silver chain, until for his interpretation of the tango Nostalgia he received a payment of 15 dollars. She later sang in the orchestras Gloria Matancera and Sonora Caracas .

Professional beginnings

In 1948, Roderico Rodney Neyra founded the group of dancers and singers Las Mulatas de Fuego. Celia is hired along with this group as a singer, achieving great success and performing in Mexico and Venezuela. With the Mulatas de Fuego, he recorded some songs and shared the scene with Xiomara Alfaro and Elena Burke. Shortly after, he began to sing on music programs on the Radio Cadena Suaritos, together with a group that performed choirs. Yorubas and batá rhythms and recorded a song with the singer Obdulio Morales. The songs she recorded at that time would later be incorporated into one of the first compilations of her work in LP format.

In 1950, Celia met businessman Rafael Sotolongo, who sought her out because he wanted her to sing with the Sonora Matancera, at that time the most popular and successful musical group in Cuba. This is because the main vocalist of the orchestra, the Puerto Rican singer Myrta Silva, had decided to leave the group to return to Puerto Rico, leaving the vacancy available for a female voice. Her entry was approved by the director of the group, Rogelio Martínez. When the directors of the radio station where she worked found out about this interview, she arbitrarily fired her.

With the Sonora Matancera

Celia Cruz in the 1950s, with the members of La Sonora Matancera.

In her first rehearsal with the Sonora Matancera, Celia met her future husband Pedro Knight, who was the group's second trumpeter. Celia made her debut with the group on August 3, 1950. Throughout the 1950s, Celia Cruz and La Sonora Matancera shone in the Cuba of Pío Leyva, Tito Gómez and Barbarito Díez; the unrepeatable Benny Moré, from the duo Los Compadres, with Compay Primo (Lorenzo Hierrezuelo) and Compay Segundo; the Cuba of Chico O'Farril and his Sun sun babae, the Cuba of La conga of the Havana Cuban Boys, that of Miguel Matamoros with his "Mom, I want to know where the singers are from", that of Miguelito Valdés with his Babalú... Celia contributed his Cao Cao Maní Picao, which became a hit, and another later song, Burundanga, took her to New York in April 1957 to collect her first gold record. She had already earned several of the nicknames and titles with which they wanted to distinguish her: she was the Rumba Queen, the Guarachera of the East and, from the first tours of Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela or Colombia, the Guarachera of Cuba. She was, in short, the corrupt and boisterous Cuba of the fifties, subjected to the servile dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958). On January 1, 1959, the dictator was forced to take refuge in the Dominican Republic before the triumph of the revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and the orchestra had to follow other paths. Although Fidel himself was among the singer's admirers, Celia could not bear being told what and where she had to sing.

Leaving Cuba

On June 15, 1960, La Sonora Matancera in full obtained permission to appear in Mexico with a juicy contract that Sonora Matancera had and they traveled to Mexico City and once there, partly driven by the serious deterioration of relations between the United States and Cuba, decided not to return. After a year of applause in the Aztec capital, Celia settled in the United States. On July 14, 1962, Celia married the first trumpeter of the orchestra, Pedro Knight, who from 1965, a difficult year for Sonora Matancera as Celio González, Celia and Knight had definitively retired as star singers, became his representative. Celia began her career as a soloist with percussionist Tito Puente, with whom she recorded 8 albums. Young Hispanics in New York discovered her in 1973 at Carnegie Hall, when she was a member of the cast of Larry Harlow's "salsopera" Hommy.

Solo career

When Celia remained as a soloist, her husband Pedro Knight decided to leave his position at Sonora Matancera to become her manager, arranger and personal conductor. In 1965, she released her first solo album, Songs I Wish I Had Recorded First . At the same time, Celia had adopted American nationality after having spent 5 years in that country as a political refugee.

In 1966, she was contacted by Tito Puente to perform with his orchestra. Both musicians thus began an association that released six musical albums: Cuba y Puerto Rico son... (1966), Quimbo Quimbumbia (1969), Etc., Etc., Etc. (1970), Soul to Soul (1971), In Spain (1971) and Something special to remember (1972). She also recorded albums with the Orquesta de Memo Salamanca, Juan Bruno Tarraza and Lino Frías under the TICO Records label. One of her greatest hits emerged from this period: Bemba colorá . Eventually she Celia joined Vaya Records. A musical change made her enter salsa. In 1973, she teamed up with pianist and FANIA record label exclusive artist Larry Harlow and headlined a concert of Afro-Cuban music at Carnegie Hall in New York. There, Celia performed Gracia divina , her first song in the salsa genre and the door to this new rhythm. The album resulting from this meeting was produced by Jerry Masucci, considered one of the creators of the salsa genre along with the Dominican musician Johnny Pacheco. Subsequently, she participated in a legendary concert recorded live at Yankee Stadium with the Fania All-Stars, an ensemble made up of Latino group leaders who recorded for the Fania label.

With Fania All Stars

Celia signed a contract with Masucci's record label, VAYA (Fania Subsidiary). In 1974 she released the album Celia & amp; Johnny with Johnny Pacheco, which went gold. In total, Celia would record another 2 albums in collaboration with Pacheco: Tremendo caché (1975) and Recordando el ayer (1976). This is where hits like Quimbara and Cucala come off. Later he fully integrated into the Fania All Stars orchestra, which was a combination of the musicians from each orchestra that played for the music label Fania (like Johnny Pacheco, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón and others). With Fania All Stars ("Estrellas de Fania"), Celia had the opportunity to visit the United Kingdom, France and Zaire. In the latter country, Celia and the Fania All-Stars participated in a mythical concert along with figures such as James Brown and BB King. In 1977, she recorded her first album with the backing of salsa trombonist and orchestrator Willie Colón, entitled Only They Could Have Made This Album. This fusion would be repeated later with great success in 1981, with the album Celia & Willie, and in 1987, with the album The Winners. From the second album comes the hit single Latinos in the United States.

In 1982, Celia reunited with Sonora Matancera, and recorded the album Feliz encuentro. In that year, the singer received the first tribute of her career, at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1985 she participated in the musical theme I will sing, you will sing , together with the most outstanding figures of Latin music of the moment. In 1987, she performed a concert in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain). That concert was recognized by the publisher of the Guinness Book of Records as the largest free admission outdoor show. The concert brought together 250,000 people. In 1988, Celia experimented with other genres and performed the duet "Vasos vacías" with the Argentine rock band Fabulosos Cadillacs. In 1989 she won her first Grammy Award, for the album Rhythm in the Heart. She was also invited to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Sonora Matancera in Central Park in New York City. The decline of salsa success gradually ends Celia Cruz's musical association with the Fania All Stars.

Last years

In 1990 Celia managed to return to Cuba. She is invited to make a presentation at the US base in Guantanamo. When she left this presentation she took a few grams of Cuban soil with her in a bag, the same one that she asked to be placed in her coffin when she died.

Although she had previously performed musically in Mexican and Cuban films, in 1992 she made her acting debut in the American film Mambo Kings, alongside Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas. A year later, she debuted as a television actress in the Mexican telenovela Valentina, alongside Verónica Castro, broadcast by the Televisa network. In that same year, she released the album Azúcar negra , produced by Sergio George.

In 1995, he had a special participation in the American film The Perez Family, along with Alfred Molina and Anjelica Huston. In 1997, he starred again for Televisa in the Mexican telenovela El alma no tiene color, a remake of the classic Mexican film Black Angels, and where Celia plays the role of a black woman who gives birth to a white daughter.

In 1998 he released the album Mi vida es cantar, from which comes one of his most successful songs: La vida es un carnaval. In 1999, she performed with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti for the Pavarotti and Friends concert. In 2000, she released a new album under the auspices of Sony Music: Celia and Friends , recorded live in Hartford, Connecticut, and where she alternated again with Tito Puente, who would die shortly. after. That same year, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences inaugurated the first edition of the Latin Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Celia opened the awards ceremony in a number where she performed alongside Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin, as well as being awarded her first Latin Grammy.

In 2001, the album Siempre viviré earned her her second Latin Grammy. On this album she interprets a version in Spanish to the rhythm of salsa of the song I Will Survive , by Gloria Gaynor. In that same year, she acts alongside Marc Anthony in a tribute to Aretha Franklin on the American network VH1.

In 2002, he released the album La negra tiene tumbao, where he dabbled in the modern variants at that time of Caribbean rhythms, influenced by rap and hip hop. For this album, she obtained her third Latin Grammy and her second American Grammy.

Kiwzo Fumero, Celia Cruz and Pedro Knight in Sant Martin.

Death

During a performance in Mexico in 2002, Celia suffered a health mishap. As a result of this, she discovered that she suffered from glioma (a very aggressive brain tumor), undergoing an operation to remove it at the end of that year, to then try to resume her artistic career. Later, he recorded his latest album, entitled Regalo del alma." In March 2003, he was offered a tribute by the American Hispanic network Telemundo, in which figures such as Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Olga Tañón, La India, Gloria Gaynor and Patti LaBelle, among others. This was the last public appearance of her.

On the afternoon of July 16, 2003, Celia died at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the age of 77. At her express wish, her mortal remains were first transferred to Miami for two days to receive the tribute of his admirers from Cuban exile, returning and finally resting in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx (New York).

Tributes and legacy

Mausoleum of Celia Cruz at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.

• In 1976, Celia was part of the documentary Salsa of the American director Leon Gast, who talks about the Latin international culture.
• In 1987, Celia was distinguished with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was also recognized with a star on Amador Bendayán Boulevard in Caracas, Venezuela. It also has a figure at the Hollywood Wax Museum, California.
• In 1989, Celiacruz (5212), an asteroid belonging to the asteroid belt was baptized in his honor.
• In 1991, the city Miami, Florida named 8th Street as Celia Cruz Way in its honor.
• In 1994 he received the award National Endowment for the Artsat the hands of then President Bill Clinton, which is the highest recognition granted by the United States government to an artist.
• He also appeared at the Olympia Theatre in Paris where other Cuban and music personalities would perform, such as Chavela Vargas, Astor Piazzolla, VAMPS, Rodolfo Aicardi, Mom Africa, Led Zeppelin and Tito Fernández.
• On October 25, 1997, the city of San Francisco officially declared that date as the "Day of Celia Cruz".
• In 1999, Celia was included in the Hall of the Fame of International Music.
• In 2003, a music school was opened in the Bronx, called Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. Pedro Knight visited this school before his death to meet the students and share stories about his life.
• In February 2004, his latest album, published in a posthumous manner, won a Lo Our Awards as the best salsa album of the year and two Latin Grammy Awards.
• In 2004, the organizers of the Carnival de Santa Cruz de Tenerife dedicated the presentation of that year to the singer, as the main theme of the carnival. The Election Gala of the Queen of Carnival was closed with the song "The Heaven Has Sugar" composed by the canary authors Gilberto Martín and Guillermo Albelo and interpreted by the Tinerfeño group Sound Balera. The song was accompanied by all the components of the Carnival de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Her husband Pedro Knight was also present in this tribute. In addition, during the Gala, the mayor of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Miguel Zerolo Aguilar, told Celia Cruz as Queen of Honor of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In 1987 Celia went to this carnival together with the orchestra Billo's Caracas Boys, attended by 250,000 people, an event registered in the Guinness Book of records as the largest congregation of people in an outdoor plaza to attend a concert. This record is still in force today.
• In 2005 his biography was published Celia: My life, based on more than 500 hours of interviews with Mexican journalist Ana Cristina Reymundo.
• Journalist Cristina Saralegui planned to bring to the cinema the history of her life and American actress Whoopi Goldberg, a fan of the singer, expressed her interest in representing her, but the project was rejected.
• In 2005, the National Museum of American History, administered by the Smithsonian Institute and located in Washington D.C., opened Sugar!, an exhibition that celebrates the life and music of Celia Cruz. The exhibition highlights important moments in the life and career of Cruz through photographs, personal documents, costumes, videos and music.
• Between 2007 and 2008, a musical based on the life of Celia Cruz was presented at the headquarters of Off-Broadway New World Stages. The work won 4 HOLA 2008 awards from the Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors.
• In 2011, Celia Cruz was honored by the United States Postal Service with a commemorative stamp. The stamp was one of a group of five stamps in honor of the great Latin music, which also include Selena, Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda and Carlos Gardel.
• In 2013, Google honored Celia Cruz with a Google Doodle.
• In 2013, singer Jennifer Lopez honored Celia with her presentation at the American Music Awards ceremony. The singers Yuri, India, Maluma and Aymée Nuviola did the same at the Latin American Music Awards.
• In 2015, the television networks RCN Television and Telemundo made the TV series Celiabased on the life of Celia Cruz. Celia was interpreted by actresses Jeimy Osorio and Aymée Nuviola and featured Patty Padilla's voice.
• Celia has three PhD Honoris Cause of 3 U.S. universities: Yale University, Florida International University and Miami University.
• His extravagant wardrobe, which included several colored wigs, tight lentil dresses and very high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian Institute.
• Throughout his career, Celia made duets and collaborations with figures such as Tito Puente, Héctor Lavoe, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Yuri, La India, Willie Colón, Patti LaBelle, Ricky Martin, Lola Flores, Jarabe de Palo, Raphael, Vicente Fernández, Juan Gabriel, the Fabulous Cadillacs, Angela Carrasco, Olga Guillot, Willy Chirino

Main awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Grammy Award for Artistic Career

Latin Grammy Awards

Discography

This is the original discography of Celia Cruz from which the various discs in 78 rpm format, recorded before the emergence of the LP format, are excluded.

Seeco Records

With the Sonora Matancera

Compilations

With the René Hernández Orchestra

With the Vicentico Valdés Orchestra

Tico Records

With Tito Puente and Orchestra

With the Sonora by Memo Salamanca

Compilations

Fania - Vaya Label

With Johnny Pacheco

With Sonora Ponceña

With Willie Colon

With Ray Barretto

With Fania All Stars

With Tito Puente and orchestra

Barbaro Records

RMM Records

Sony Music Entertainment

Universal Music Latino

Cubanacan Records

Elektra / Asylum Records

Filmography

Cinema

• Mexico Chamber (1948)
• Rincón criollo (1950)
• A Galician in La Habana (1955)
• Back (1955)
• Olé, Cuba! (1956)
• Affair in Havana (1957)
• Lovely heart (1961)
• Salsa (documentary) (1976)
• Salsa (1988)
• The Mambo Kings (1992)
• The Perez Family (1995)

Soap Operas

• Valentina (1993-1994) - Lecumé
• The soul has no color (1997) - Macaria
• Celia (2015-2016) - telenovela that narrates the life of Celia Cruz

DVD Specials

• I am Celia Cruz
• Sugar, Tribute to Celia Cruz
• Celia Cruz & Friends - A Night of Salsa
• The Eternal Voice
• Celia the Queen
• Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars in Africa
• An Extraordinary Woman
• In Africa: Guantanamera
• The Romerin Show
• The Romerín Vol.2 Show
• The Romerín Vol.3 Show
• The Romerín Vol.4 Show

Other compilation discs