Cruz, Celia

born Oct. 21, с 1929, Havana, Cuba

died July 16, 2003, Fort Lee, N.J., U.S.

Cuban-born U.S. singer.

She was studying to become a teacher in her native Havana when she won a talent show, after which she began to pursue a singing career. In the early 1950s she became lead singer with the popular orchestra La Sonora Matancera, often headlining at the famous Tropicana nightclub. After Cuba's revolution of 1959, the orchestra moved to Mexico and later to the U.S. In 1962 Cruz married its first trumpet player, Pedro Knight, who became her manager after she left the group. In the 1960s she released more than 20 albums in the U.S., including seven with Tito Puente. She became identified with salsa, a dance music that evolved from the musical experimentation of various Hispanic musicians with Caribbean sounds during the late 1960s. Cruz was the subject of a 1988 BBC documentary and appeared in films such as The Mambo Kings (1992).

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▪ 2004

      Cuban-born singer (b. Oct. 21, 1924?, Havana, Cuba—d. July 16, 2003, Fort Lee, N.J.), reigned for decades as the “queen of salsa music,” electrifying audiences with her wide-ranging, soulful voice and rhythmically compelling style; she shimmied as she sang, attired in flamboyant costumes, including varicoloured wigs, tight sequined dresses, and outlandishly high heels. She studied at Havana's Conservatory of Music before rising to fame as lead singer in the hit orchestra La Sonora Matancera in 1950; she appeared in five Cuban films and starred at Havana's Tropicana nightclub. After the 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power, Cruz and the band moved to Mexico and then, in 1961, to the United States. Top Latin-jazz bandleader Tito Puente began featuring her in the 1960s, and her breakthrough came in the '70s with the rise of salsa, a blend of Afro-Cuban and other Caribbean musics. She recorded hits such as “Bemba Colorá” and “Quimbara” with Johnny Pacheco; was featured with Willie Colón, Ray Barretto, and other salsa stars; and was lead singer with the Fania All-Stars. She also sang with rock stars and in the Latin opera Hommy (a version of the Who's Tommy), and she included raps in her later recordings. Cruz, the subject of the 1988 BBC television documentary My Name Is Celia Cruz, won two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammys and was a 1994 recipient of a National Medal of the Arts. Though her records were not allowed in Cuba and she was forbidden to return for her father's funeral, the ban on her was eased in the late 1990s. She refused to return, however, while Castro was alive.

▪ 1998

      By 1997 brash and sassy Cuban singer Celia Cruz, the "Queen of Salsa Music," had performed for more than 40 years, becoming the best-selling artist of that genre and an idol in the United States' Hispanic community. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton in 1994 for her contributions to the musical arts.

      Cruz was born on Oct. 21, c. 1929, in Havana. She did not divulge the year of her birth. She grew up in Santos Suárez, a district of Havana, in an extended family of 14. After high school she attended the Escuela Normal para Maestros (Havana), intending to become a literature teacher. After winning a talent show, however, in which she interpreted the tango piece "Nostalgia" in a bolero tempo, Cruz interrupted her studies to pursue a singing career. Despite the misgivings of her father—who felt that music was a disreputable career—Cruz sang in amateur venues and on the radio. She also attended voice and theory classes at Havana's Conservatory of Music.

      Her musical breakthrough came in 1950 when she replaced lead singer Myrta Silva of the popular orchestra La Sonora Matancera. Cruz sang regularly with the ensemble on radio and television, toured extensively, and appeared with it in five films produced in Mexico. She also headlined Havana's Tropicana nightclub in the 1950s.

      After Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Havana's nightlife all but disappeared along with many of Cuba's most talented performers. La Sonora Matancera left Cuba in 1960, working in Mexico for some 18 months before immigrating to the United States. In 1962 Cruz married the orchestra's first trumpet player, Pedro Knight, who became her musical director and manager after she became a solo artist. During the 1960s, however, Cruz did not experience in the U.S. the success she had enjoyed in Cuba, despite recording 20 albums for Seeco Records and several for Tico Records, including 7 with bandleader Tito Puente.

      That success came after she became identified with salsa, a dance music that evolved from the musical experimentation of various Hispanic musicians with Caribbean sounds during the late 1960s. Cruz re-created herself for a younger generation of Hispanics by singing in the Latin opera Hommy (a version of the Who's Tommy) in Carnegie Hall and by recording updated, contemporary Latin music for Johnny Pacheco's Vaya record label (Celia & Johnny, 1974). With a voice described as operatic, she moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style of improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavour to salsa.

      In recent years Cruz earned renown in a wider circle. She was the subject of a BBC documentary, My Name Is Celia Cruz (1988), and appeared in the films The Mambo Kings (1992) and The Perez Family (1995). Her many honours ranged from an honorary doctorate of music from Yale University to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a 1990 Grammy award for her album Ritmo en el corazón.

SUSAN DOLL

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▪ Cuban singer

born October 21, 1929?, Havana, Cuba

died July 16, 2003, Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S.

 Cuban singer who reigned for decades as the “Queen of Salsa Music,” electrifying audiences with her wide-ranging, soulful voice and rhythmically compelling style.

      Cruz never divulged the exact year of her birth. She grew up in Santos Suárez, a district of Havana, in an extended family of 14. After high school she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana, intending to become a literature teacher. After winning a talent show, however, in which she interpreted the tango piece "Nostalgia" in a bolero tempo, Cruz interrupted her studies to pursue a singing career. Her musical breakthrough came in 1950 when she replaced lead singer Myrta Silva of the popular orchestra La Sonora Matancera. Cruz sang regularly with the ensemble on radio and television, toured extensively, and appeared with it in five films produced in Mexico. She also headlined Havana's Tropicana nightclub in the 1950s.

      After the Cuban revolution of 1959, Havana's nightlife all but disappeared. La Sonora Matancera left Cuba for Mexico and then the United States. In 1962 Cruz married the orchestra's first trumpet player, Pedro Knight, who became her musical director and manager after she became a solo artist. Despite recording 20 albums for Seeco Records and several for Tico Records (including 7 with bandleader Tito Puente (Puente, Tito)), Cruz was slow to find a wide audience in the United States during the 1960s. Success came after she became identified with salsa, a Hispanic dance music that evolved from musical experimentation with Caribbean sounds. Cruz re-created herself for a younger generation of Hispanics by singing in the Latin opera Hommy (1973; a version of the rock opera Tommy) in New York's Carnegie Hall and by recording updated Latin classics for Johnny Pacheco's Vaya record label (Celia & Johnny, 1974). With a voice described as operatic, she moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style of improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavour to salsa. Her flamboyant costumes, which included varicoloured wigs, tight sequined dresses, and outlandishly high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution.

      In her later years Cruz earned renown in a wider circle. She was the subject of a BBC documentary, My Name Is Celia Cruz (1988), and appeared in the films The Mambo Kings (1992) and The Perez Family (1995). Her autobiography, Celia: My Life (2004; originally published in Spanish), was written with Ana Cristina Reymundo. Her many honours included three Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammys for recordings such as Ritmo en el Corazón (1988) and Siempre Viviré (2000).

Additional Reading

Eduardo Marceles, Azúcar!: The Biography of Celia Cruz (2004), is a translation based on a revision of the original Spanish edition.

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