Celia Cruz was a Cuban singer. Her name is spelled Celia Correa before she married to Francisco “Chus” Luis González in 1952, who later became the brother-in-law of Latin American popular musician and composer Chucho Valdés. She died on March 3rd, 2003 at age 73..
Celia Cruz was a Cuban singer who is best known for her salsa music. She was born in 1923 and died in 2003. Her song “La Vida Es un Carnaval” has been recorded by many artists, including Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, and David Bisbal.
Celia Cruz was a well-known singer in Latin music. Cruz earned a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. She was a ten-time Grammy nominee who performed exclusively in her native Spanish tongue. Cruz’s distinctive orange, red, and white polka dot outfit and shoes have been put in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology, and a boulevard in Miami has been called in her honor. A monument of the Cuban-born singer may be seen at the Hollywood Wax Museum. Cruz “commands her domain with a down-to-earth dignity undeniably alive in her broad grin and stunning posture,” according to the European Jazz Network.
Cruz was born into a family of 14 children in the tiny hamlet of Barrio Santos Suarez, Havana, and was attracted to music at a young age. Her first pair of shoes were given to her by a tourist for whom she had performed. Cruz performed in school plays and neighborhood events, in addition to singing her younger siblings to sleep many nights. She was exposed to the world of professional music by an aunt who took her to cabarets and nightclubs. Cruz started entering and winning local talent contests after being encouraged by a relative. Cruz was drawn to music despite her father’s efforts to persuade her to pursue a profession as a teacher. She said in a 1997 interview, “I’ve achieved my father’s dream of becoming a teacher by teaching generations of people about my culture and the joy that can be found in just living life via my music. I want to make people’s hearts sing and their spirits soar as a performer.” Cruz was inspired by the singing of Afro-Cuban singer Paulina Alvarez when she enrolled at Cuba’s Conservatory of Music in 1947. In 1950, she was asked to join the band La Sonora Matancera, which was her first break. The orchestra was regarded as the Latin equivalent of Duke Ellington’s. Cruz stayed with the band for 15 years, traveling all over the globe with them. On July 14, 1962, she married Pedro Knight, the band’s trumpet player. Cruz and Knight declined to return to Cuba when Fidel Castro took power in 1960, and instead became citizens of the United States. Cruz and Knight moved to New York after signing a contract to play with the orchestra of the Hollywood Palladium. In 1965, Knight became Cruz’s manager, a role he maintained until the mid-1990s, when he started to focus on acting as her musical director and band leader.
Cruz began her solo career with a band created for her by Tito Puente after leaving Sonora Matancera’s band in 1965. Despite producing eight albums together, the partnership was not commercially successful. In 1987, Cruz and Puente rekindled their friendship with a special performance at the Grammy Awards. Cruz recorded with Oscar D’Leon, Cheo Feliciano, and Hector Rodriquez for Vaya, Fania’s sister label, in the mid- to late 1960s. Cruz’s first big break after leaving Sonora Matancera occurred in 1974, when she released Celia & Johnny, a duet album with Johnny Pacheco, a trombone player and Fania co-owner. She then joined the Fania All Stars and started performing with them. Cruz’s star rose to new heights when she starred in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. Cruz was featured in the movie The Perez Family. In the Jonathan Demme film Something Wild, she sang a duet rendition of “Loco de Amor” with David Byrne. Cruz released Duets in 1998, which included Willie Colon, Angela Carrasco, Oscar D’Leon, Jose Alberto “El Canario,” and la India singing alongside her. Cruz continued to record and perform until a brain illness forced him to retire in 2002. She managed to go into the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma while recuperating from surgery to remove the tumor. Her operation only had a partial result, and she died on July 16, 2003. The “Queen of Salsa’s” death left a tremendous void in Latin music, but she also left behind a magnificent discography to commemorate her reign.
Celia Cruz was a Puerto Rican singer and actress. She died of heart failure in 2003. Her songs include “Bachata Rosa”, “La Vida es un Carnaval” and “Guantanamera”. Reference: celia cruz death.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Celia Cruzs most famous song?
A: Celia Cruzs most famous song is La Bamba.
Who is considered the queen of salsa?
A: Christina Aguilera is considered the queen of salsa.
Why does Celia Cruz say sugar?
A: Because my owner told me to.
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