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CELIA CRUZ - Biografia
Celia Cruz (
October 21, 1925 --
July 16, 2003) was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful salsa performers of the
20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums. She was renowned internationally as the "
Queen of
Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de
Cuba"
In
1950,
Cruz made her first major breakthrough, after the lead singer of the
Sonora Matancera, a renowned Cuban orchestra, left the group and Cruz was called to fill in. Cruz was hired permanently by the orchestra, but she wasn't well accepted by the public at first. However, the orchestra stood by their decision, and soon Cruz became famous throughout Cuba. During the 15 years she was a member, the band traveled all over
Latin America, becoming known as "
Café Con
Leche" (coffee with milk). Cruz became known for her trademark shout "¡
Azúcar!" ("
Sugar!" in
Spanish). The catch phrase started as the punch line for a joke Cruz used to tell frequently at her concerts.
Once, she ordered cafe cubano (
Cuban coffee) in a restaurant in
Miami. The waiter asked her if she'd like sugar, and she replied that, since he was Cuban, he should know that you can't drink Cuban coffee without it! After having told the joke so many times, Cruz eventually dropped the joke and greeted her audience at the start of her appearances with the punch line alone. In her later years, she would use the punch line a few times, to later say: "No les digo más 'Azúcar', pa' que no les dé diabetes!" which means "I won't say 'Sugar' anymore so that you won't get diabetes".[citation needed]
With
Fidel Castro assuming control of Cuba in
1959, Cruz and her husband,
Pedro Knight, refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the
United States. In 1966, Cruz and
Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for
Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However,
Puente and Cruz later joined the
Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist
Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at
New York's Carnegie Hall.
Cruz's
1974 album with
Johnny Pacheco,
Celia y
Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the
Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records). With the Fania All-Stars, Cruz had the opportunity of visiting
England,
France,
Zaire (
Today's
DR Congo), and to return to tour Latin America; her performance in Zaire is included in the film
Soul Power.[6] In the late
1970s, she participated in an
Eastern Air Lines commercial in
Puerto Rico, singing the catchy phrase ¡Esto sí es volar! (This really is flying!).
Celia Cruz used to sing the identifying spot for
WQBA radio station in Miami, formerly known as "La Cubanísima": "I am the voice of Cuba, from this land, far away,
..., I am liberty, I am WQBA, the most Cuban! (Yo soy de Cuba, la voz, desde esta tierra lejana, ..., soy libertad, soy WQBA, Cubanísima!) During the
1980s, Cruz made many tours in Latin America and
Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the
1988 feature film Salsa, alongside
Robby Draco Rosa.
In
1990, Cruz won a
Grammy Award for
Best Tropical Latin Performance -
Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz -
Ritmo en el
Corazon. She later recorded an anniversary album with la Sonora Matancera. In
1992, she starred with
Armand Assante and
Antonio Banderas in the film
The Mambo Kings. In
1994,
President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the
National Medal of Arts. In
2001, she recorded a new album, on which Johnny Pacheco was one of the producers.
On July 16,
2002, Cruz performed to a full house at the free outdoor performing arts festival
Central Park SummerStage in
New York City. During the performance she sang, "Bemba
Colora." A live recording of this song was subsequently made available in
2005 on a commemorative CD honoring the festival's then 20 year history entitled, "Central Park SummerStage:
Live from the
Heart of the City". Cruz appeared on the
2006 Dionne Warwick album
My Friends & Me.
On July 16, 2003, Cruz died of brain cancer at her home in
Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the age of 77. She was survived by her husband, Pedro Knight (died
February 3,
2007). She had no children. After her death, her body was taken to lie in state in Miami's
Freedom Tower, where more than
200,
000 fans paid their final respects. Her body was returned to
New Jersey where tens of thousands of fans paid tribute to her at the funeral home. A service was held for her in
St. Patrick's Cathedral. She was interred in a private mausoleum at
Woodlawn Cemetery in the
Bronx. An epilogue in her autobiography notes that, in accordance with her wishes, Cuban soil which she had saved from a visit to
Guantánamo Bay was used in her entombment.
- published: 01 May 2012
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