Celia Cruz
also known as La Reina de Salsa (The Queen of Salsa)
Born
in Havana, Cuba on October 21, 1925. Cruz was the second of
fourteen children. Growing up in the 1930's, Cruz was influenced
by several musicians that later influenced her future career.
Some influential artisits include: Paulina Alvarez,
Fernando Collazo and Abelardo Barroso.
Cruz began singing in Havana's radio station Radio Garcia-Serra's
popular "Hora del Té" daily broadcast. Here she sang the tango "Nostalgias", often winning cakes as prizes in addition to
opportunities to participate in more contests. Cruz's first recordings were
made in 1948 in Venezuela. Before that, Cruz had recorded for radio
stations.
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.
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.
"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."
When
Fidel Castro obtained control of Cuba in 1959, Cruz and her husband,
Pedro Knight, fleed and became citizens of the United States.
They refused to return to their homeland.
From
1966 until her death in 2003, Celia Cruz was a part of several musical
groups and partnerships which toured Latin America and Europe.
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 Hollywood production of 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 Armad Assante and Antonio Banderas in the film The Mambo Kings.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the Nartional 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 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."
On
July 16, 2003, Cruz died of a cancerous brain tumor at her home in Frot
Lee, New Jersey. She was survived by her husband Pedri Knight, who
later died February 3, 2007.
After her death in New Jersey, her body was taken to Miami to lie in state in downtown Miami's Freedom Tower,
where more than 200,000 of her South Florida 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 on Fifth Avenue. She wasburied in a private mausoleum at the Woodlown Cemetary in the Bronx;
an epilogue in her autobiography notes that, in accordance with her
wishes, Cuban soil that she had saved from a visit to Guantánamo Bay
was used in her entombment.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_Cruz
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