Celia Cruz, born Ursula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born in Santos Suarez, Cuba on October 21, 1925. Celia reigned as the Guarachera the Cuba for all of her life.
After the Cuban revolution of 1959, Havana’s nightlife all but disappeared. Along with the other members of La Sonora Matancera, Cruz left Cuba for Mexico and then the United States, eventually settling in New Jersey. In 1962 she married the orchestra’s first trumpet player, Pedro Knight, who became her musical director and manager three years later, after she had left the group and become a solo artist. Despite recording several albums with bandleader Tito Puente however, Cruz was slow to find a wide audience in the United States during the 1960s and early ’70s.
Success came after Cruz became identified with salsa, a Hispanic dance music that evolved from musical experimentation with Caribbean sounds. She re-created herself for a younger generation of Hispanics by singing in the Latin opera Hommy in New York; Carnegie Hall and by recording updated Latin classics for Johnny Pacheco’s Vaya record label. Before long, Cruz emerged as a central figure within New York’s vibrant salsa scene. She collaborated with Pacheco on a series of albums, beginning with Celia & Johnny (1974); its dynamic single “Quimbara” became one of her signature songs. She also made three albums with Willie Colon (1977, 1981, 1987). With a voice described as operatic, Cruz 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.
Resource: www.britannica.com
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