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The Eternal Celia Cruz

The Eternal Celia Cruz

By Ernesto Lechner | AARP.org – Oct 01, 2024

People talk about her multicolored wigs, her contagious smile and her catchphrase, “¡Azúcar!” (Sugar!), which made the whole world dance. But Celia Cruz, Cuba’s eternal guarachera, was also the creator of an extraordinary discography that to this day remains overshadowed by her own legend: more than 80 albums and songs and 23 gold records that earned her three Grammys and four Latin Grammys, among many other awards. A wide and lively catalog of tropical genres, accompanied by the best musicians and arrangers in Latin music, here’s the story behind the hits.

Velia Cruz Hits

Cruz spent her adolescent years learning to sing the hits of the time, such as the tangos of Carlos Gardel. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: SPECIAL/NOTIMEX/Newscom; Getty Images (3))

First musical influences

Úrsula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born in the poorest section of the Santos Suárez neighborhood in Havana on Oct. 21, 1925. She shared a small house with 13 family members. She was shy as a girl and spent her adolescence learning to sing the hits of the time, such as the tangos of Carlos Gardel. She was fortunate enough to frequent the popular nightclubs of the era, attending concerts by Cachao, Arcaño y sus Maravillas and the singer who influenced her the most: Paulina Álvarez.

The Eternal Celia Cruz

Cruz’s cousin entered her in a radio contest. She performed the tango “Nostalgia” and won first prize. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Everett Collection; Getty Images (2))

Thank you, Serafín

In 1947, Serafín, Cruz’s cousin, entered her into a contest in a radio show, La Hora del Té (Tea Time). She performed the tango “Nostalgia” and won first prize, a meringue cake. She kept participating in contests while studying to be a teacher to please her father, who was initially embarrassed that his daughter worked in show business. In 1951, she sang Afro-Cuban musical numbers in the theatrical production Sun Sun ba Baé, which was a popular success.

Celia Cruz Hits

Cruz joined La Sonora Matancera in 1950 and was the lead singer for the orchestra. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Historic Collection / Alamy Stock Photo; Getty Images (3))

La Sonora Matancera

One night, Cruz dreamed she was singing at the Campoamor Theater with the famous Sonora Matancera. It would be a prophetic dream, as Cruz would become the lead singer of the orchestra — and by far the most famous — in August 1950. When she arrived to her first rehearsal at Radio Progreso studios, she was greeted by trumpet player Pedro Knight, her future husband. “Burundanga,” “El Yerbero Moderno,” “La Sopa en Botella” and “Melao de Caña” are some of her most notable hits from her time with the orchestra.

The Eternal Celia Cruz

In 1960, Cruz and La Sonora Matancera left Cuba, never to return. Cruz later adorned an American stamp. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Universal Agency; Getty Images (3))

Exile

After the start of the Cuban Revolution, Cruz and La Sonora Matancera were getting ready to travel to Mexico on July 15, 1960. As the plane took off, music director Rogelio Martínez announced they would never return. In Mexico, fame awaited them, along with films and tours around the United States. A year later, Cruz and Knight settled down in New York. Tired of recording with La Sonora Matancera and eager to expand her musical horizons, she ended her relationship with the Seeco label. Fifty years later, her image would adorn a postal stamp in her adopted country.

Celia Cruz Hits

Cruz joined forces with Tito Puente, left, in 1965. Here, the stars are together in the 1980s. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Karen Petersen/Everett Collection; Getty Images (3))

The Guarachera and the King of the Timbales

In 1965, Cruz began working with timbalero Tito Puente, touring and recording a series of fascinating LPs that achieved little commercial success. Their collaboration kicked off in great style with “La Guarachera” — the opening track of Cuba y Puerto Rico son … — with Cruz brilliantly imitating the percussive sounds of the timbales. Trying to interest young people obsessed with The Beatles, Puente experimented with modern orchestrations, revisiting old hits by La Matancera such as “Dile Que por Mí no Tema” and “Sahara.”

Celia Cruz Hits

Cruz dances with Fania All Stars director Johnny Pacheco, left, in Africa. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Getty Images (3))

Time for salsa

Just when it seemed like Cruz’s career had irretrievably declined, the explosion of salsa in New York in the early 1970s put her in an unbeatable position. Accompanied by the flutist and orchestra director Johnny Pacheco, Cruz recorded “Químbara” in 1974. It became a salsa anthem, and the albums Celia & Johnny and Tremendo Caché were now emblems of this new Afro-Caribbean movement.

The Eternal Celia Cruz

Cruz, seen here in about 1970, became the only female singer for the Fania All Stars. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Getty Images (2))

Fania All-Stars

In addition to working with Pacheco, Cruz — having dethroned her main competitor and compatriot, La Lupe — became the only female singer of the musical group Fania All-Stars, performing concerts alongside salsa greats such as Héctor Lavoe, Cheo Feliciano and Ismael Miranda. Their fiery version of “Bemba Colorá,” relentless and feverish in its salsa style, is a defining hit of the era. In 1974, Cruz sang “Guantanamera” in a stadium in the Congo, driving Africans crazy with her tropical style.

Celia Cruz Hits

In 1977, the album “Only They Could Have Made This Album” included a version of the Brazilian hit “Usted Abusó.” Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Photo by David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Getty Images (3))

“Usted Abusó”

Under Fania Records, Cruz recorded a wide range of albums in collaboration with the label’s stars. While continuing to sing with Pacheco, she befriended Willie Colón, known for his work with Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades, and who favored a more progressive sound. In 1977, Only They Could Have Made This Album included a lilting version of the Brazilian hit “Usted Abusó” as well as “A Papá,” in Afro-Puerto Rican plena rhythms. In 1979, she recorded the extraordinary album La Ceiba with the Puerto Rican orchestra La Sonora Ponceña.

Celia Cruz Hits

Cruz’s productivity continued even as classic salsa music lost ground. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images; Getty Images (2))

The Rumba continues

While classic salsa music was losing ground during the ’80s, Cruz’s productivity continued to shine. In 1983, she recorded Tremendo Trío with conga master Ray Barretto and singer Adalberto Santiago, performing the heart-stopping hit “Nadie Se Salva de la Rumba.” Five years later, The Winner again captured her remarkable musical chemistry with Barretto, and in 1992, her tribute to Ismael Rivera — her last work for the Fania conglomerate — included sizzling versions of “Las Caras Lindas” and “El Negro Bembón.”

The Eternal Celia Cruz

Cruz’s voice became raspy, deep and chocolaty as she aged. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: CM GUERRERO; Getty Images(3))

A carnival of hits

Getting older did wonders for Cruz’s vocal cords: her voice became raspy, deep and chocolaty, exuding joy and exhilaration. Performing live, she commanded the audience’s attention like an empress, stringing together decades of her repertoire without forgetting a single lyric. Ralph Mercado’s label, RMM, paired her with Willy Chirino in 1995, modernizing her style with the radio hit “Que le den Candela.” In 1998, “La Vida es un Carnaval” became one of the defining anthems of Latin music.

Celia Cruz Star

Cruz died in 2003 at 77. Flowers adorn her star in the Little Havana section of Miami. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Richard Patterson; Getty Images (2))

She lives on

Cruz remained with Sony until the end of her career, where she worked with young managers and producers. The label promoted her as a true music legend. Her album Siempre Viviré was released in 2000, along with “Yo Viviré,” Cruz’s version of Gloria Gaynor’s hit “I Will Survive.” However, Cruz’s lyrics and voice turned it into a prophecy. The 2001 album La Negra Tiene Tumbao, which earned her two Grammy Awards, is a cleverly orchestrated mix of Afro-Cuban roots with elements of hip-hop and a digital production. Cruz died July 16, 2003, at the age of 77. Years later, her artistic legacy maintains a freshness and relevance that set her apart from other artists of her generation.

100 Años de Azúcar

The Celia Cruz Foundation released “En Vivo: 100 Años de Azúcar” in May 2024 ahead of the centennial celebration of her birth. Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Courtesy of celiacruz.com; Getty Images (3))

100 years of azúcar!

In honor of the centennial anniversary of her birth Oct. 21, 2025, the Celia Cruz Foundation is organizing a year of multiple initiatives to remember and honor the performer. It began with the release in May of the album En Vivo: 100 Años de Azúcar. It includes nine songs performed by Cruz in a Miami nightclub in 1986 and 1987, which remained unreleased until they were compiled in this commemorative LP and include “Quimbara,” “Bemba Colorá,” “La Dicha Mía” and “Tu Voz.” To the delight of her fans, the cover of a limited-edition collector’s set comes adorned with fabric and sequins from one of Cruz’s dresses. The set also includes a book of 100 photos — one for each year of the centennial — leaving no doubt of the queen’s enduring power to captivate her fans.

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