Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

Celia Cruz

Celia Cruz was one of the most famous Cuban salsa singers. She was nicknamed the Queen of Salsa, with more than thirty-six albums, recorded with some other leading singers in Latin music. Cruz worked as a singer for more than forty years, and during that time, she became well known for her vigorous work, great personality, and her emotional way of singing. During her performances, she was well known for being able to improvise lyrics.

Celia Cruz was born on October 21, 1924, in the Santo Suarez neighborhood of Havana. Her singing talent was obvious even when she was young, but instead of pursuing a career in singing, she studied to be a teacher. This was because her father told her that he did not believe that singing was a worthwhile profession for a woman. She still went after a career in singing, after encouragement from her mother, teacher and aunt.

Cruz first began singing in talent shows and doing recordings for radio stations, but neither were sold for money. Her first recordings were made in 1978 in Venezuela with the Turpial label. She sang these with the Leonard Melody and Alfonso Larrain orchestras. In 1950, she was called in to be the lead singer of a Cuban band, La Sonara Matanzera. At first, the public did not like her, because she was black, but eventually, because of her hard work, talent and the fact that the orchestra stood by her, the public accepted her, and she became famous throughout Cuba.

In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution, Cruz moved first to Mexico, and then to the United States. In 1961, Cruz and La Sonara Matanzera performed at the Hollywood Palladium. A year after that, she married the lead trumpet player, Pedro Knight. In 1965, they both left the band, so that Cruz could pursue a solo career. Her husband became her manager, and after getting their U.S. Citizenship, they never returned to Cuba.

Cruz made many albums,...