"La Guarachera de Cuba"(The Rythm of Cuba)
Labels:
Celia Cruz,
Cubano,
molo yueng,
Queen of Salsa,
Salsa,
sarcarrogance,
time machine,
Women in Music
Hidey-Ho de la cima del mundo. Es tu hijo Molo.
It's Tuesday time for a trip in the past cause we never know where we going, if you don't know where we been. Our trip takes us to the sultry festive and vibrant Cuba in the 1930's.
So with that said here we go. I was chilling singing one of my favorite songs from when I was little "Guantanamera" and it had me thinking, I must of have heard ten versions of that song I don't know who sings it. The only person I could think of is Wyclef but I know it was sung way before him. Then my illustrious brain trust(Sarcarrogance Headquarters) looked at me with a WTF glare. In unison they said "You never heard of Celia Cruz?". I felt like I got pants on the 50 yard of the Super Bowl at halftime lol. So now I am on a mission for knowledge and what I found out was staggering.
Early Life
Celia Cruz (born in Havana, Cuba as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925- July 16, 2003) was a Cuban salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, with twenty-three gold albums to her name. She was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba". Celia Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said
"Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban music." - Billboard Magazine
Cruz once said in an interview:
"If I had a chance I wouldn't have been singing and dancing, I would be a teacher just like my dad wanted me to be". - Celia Cruz
Cruz was born in the diverse Santos Suárez neighborhood of La Habana, Cuba. She is the second child of fourteen children born to Catalina Alfonso and Simón Cruz. Simón worked in the railroads as a stoker, and Catalina took care of the extended family.
Cruz' early influences were a who's who in Cubano music like Paulina Alvarez, Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo, Arsenio Rodriguez, and Arcaño y sus Maravillas. When she was a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to keep attending school, in hopes that she would become a Spanish language teacher. However, one of her teachers told her that as an entertainer she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. Cruz began singing in Havana's radio station Radio Garcia-Serra's popular "Hora del Té" daily broadcast, she sang the tango "Nostalgias", (and won a cake as first place) often winning cakes and also opportunities to participate in more contests. Her first recordings were made in 1948 in Venezuela. Before that, Cruz had recorded for radio stations.
Career Breakthrough
She made her breaktrough when a member of the Sonora Matancera orchestra left and asked Cruz to replace them. At first the audience didn't like her but her talent can't be denied. She stayed with the orchestra for 15 years. They ended up changing their name to "Café Con Leche" (Coffee with Milk). So after she was known for tradmark shout "¡Azúcar!", which is 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". lol.
Credits
In her career Celia Cruz recorded 72 albums
Has 23 Gold records
She has worked with legends like Tito Fuente, Johnny Pacheco, Robby Draco Rosa, Larry Harlow, etc...
Recieved National Medal of Art from President Bill Clinton
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 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." In early 2003, she had surgery to correct knee problems that she had for a few years, and she intended to continue working indefinitely. She had weight issues. Celia Cruz appeared on the Dionne Warwick album My Friends and Me 2006.
Her Death
On July 16, 2003, she died of a cancerous brain tumor at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey. She was survived by her husband Pedro Knight, who 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 was interred in a private mausoleum at the Woodlawn Cemetery 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.
In February 2004, her latest album Regalo del Alma, won a posthumous award at the Premios Lo Nuestro for best Salsa release of the year. It was announced in December 2005 that a musical called "Assuca" would open in Tenerife before touring the world. The name comes from Cruz's well-known catch phrase of "¡Azúcar!".
On June 4, 2004, the heavily-Cuban-populated town of Union City, New Jersey, heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new Celia Cruz Park at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower, Pedro Knight, present. The park features a sidewalk star in Cruz's honor, There are four other similar dedications to Cruz around the world. Stars were later added to the park in honor of Tito Puente, Spanish language television news anchor Rafael Pineda, salsa pioneer Johnny Pacheco, and Benny More, merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, and Cuban musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez.
On May 18, 2005, the National Museum of American History, administered by the Smithsonian Institution and located in Washington, D.C., opened "¡Azúcar!", an exhibit celebrating the life and music of Celia Cruz. The exhibit highlights important moments in Cruz's life and career through photographs, personal documents, costumes, videos, and music.
With this new found knowledge and respect I will sing with pride "Guantananera". So Adios mi amigos!
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December 8, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Fourteen kids!! Damn her paren'ts were getting busy! haha..lmao@"with a WTF glare"..can't help that you didn't know CELIA CRUZ! lol..
Well if you don't know, now you know!
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