Celia Cruz music videos

Celia Cruz (born Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums. She was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba."

She spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries.

Celia Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said "Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban music." 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".

Cruz was born October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez neighborhood in Havana, 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.

While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians that later influenced her adult career, such as Paulina Alvarez, Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo, Arsenio Rodríguez, and Arcaño y sus Maravillas. Celia Cruz also studied the words to Yoruba songs with colleague Mercedita Valdes (an Akpwon santeria singer) from Cuba and Celia made various recordings of this religious genre singing even back up for other female akpwons like Candita Batista.[4]

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.[citation needed]
Career
Dexter Lehtinen, Celia Cruz, Alonso R. del Portillo, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, and Pedro Knight in May 1992

In 1950, Cruz made her first major breakthrough, after the lead singer of the Sonora Matancera, a renowned Cuban orchestra, left the group and Cruz was called to fill in. Cruz was hired permanently by the orchestra, but she wasn't well accepted by the public at first. However, the orchestra stood by their decision, and soon Cruz became famous throughout Cuba. During the 15 years she was a member, the band traveled all over Latin America, becoming known as "Café Con Leche" (coffee with milk). Cruz became known for her trademark shout "¡Azúcar!" ("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".[citation needed]

With Fidel Castro assuming control of Cuba in 1959, Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the United States.

In 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records). With the Fania All-Stars, Cruz had the opportunity of visiting England, France, Zaire (Today's DR Congo), and to return to tour Latin America; her performance in Zaire is included in the film Soul Power.[5] In the late 1970s, she participated in an Eastern Air Lines commercial in Puerto Rico, singing the catchy phrase ¡Esto sí es volar! (This really is flying!).

Celia Cruz used to sing the identifying spot for WQBA radio station in Miami, formerly known as "La Cubanísima" : "I am the voice of Cuba, from this land, far away,..., I am liberty, I am WQBA, the most Cuban! (Yo soy de Cuba, la voz, desde esta tierra lejana, ..., soy libertad, soy WQBA, Cubanísima!)

During the 1980s, Cruz made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 Hollywood production of Salsa, alongside Robby Draco Rosa.

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 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. 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 2006 Dionne Warwick album My Friends & Me.
Death
The mausoleum of Celia Cruz in Woodlawn Cemetery.

On July 16, 2003, Cruz 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.
Legacy
Celia Cruz Plaza in Union City, New Jersey.

In February 2004, Cruz's 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-American community of Union City, New Jersey heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new Celia Cruz Park (also known as Celia Cruz Plaza), which features a sidewalk star in her honor, at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower, Pedro Knight, present. There are four other similar dedications to Cruz around the world.[6] Cruz's star has expanded into Union City's "Walk of Fame",[7] as new marble stars are added each spring to honor Latin entertainment and media personalities, such as merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, Cuban musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Cuban tenor Beny Moré,[8] Tito Puente, Spanish language television news anchor Rafael Pineda, salsa pioneer Johnny Pacheco,[9] singer/bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa and music promoter Ralph Mercado.[10]

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.

On September 26, 2007, through May 25, 2008, Celia, a musical based on the life of Celia Cruz, played at the off-Broadway venue, New World Stages. Some performances were in Spanish and some in English. The show won four 2008 HOLA awards from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.[11]
Discography

2003 Homenaje a Beny Moré
2003 Celia & Johnny
2003 Dios Disfrute a la Reina
2003 Son Boleros, Boleros Son
2003 Reina de la Música Cubana
2003 Regalo del Alma
2003 Más Grande Historia Jamás Cantada
2003 Estrellas de la Sonora Matancera
2003 Celia in the House: Classic Hits Remixed
2003 Carnaval de la Vida
2003 Candela Pura
2002 Unrepeatable
2002 Hits Mix
2001 La Negra Tiene Tumbao
2000 Siempre Viviré
2000 Salsa
2000 Habanera
2000 Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa
1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 3
1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 2
1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 1
1999 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 5
1999 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 4
1998 Mi Vida Es Cantar

1998 Afro-Cubana
1997 También Boleros
1997 Duets
1997 Cambiando Ritmos
1996 Celia Cruz Delta
1995 Irresistible
1995 Festejando Navidad
1995 Double Dynamite
1995 Cuba's Queen of Rhythm
1994 Merengue Saludos Amigos
1994 Mambo del Amor
1994 Irrepetible
1994 Homenaje a Los Santos
1994 Guaracheras de La Guaracha
1993 Introducing
1993 Homenaje a Beny Moré, Vol. 3
1993 Boleros Polydor
1993 Azucar Negra
1992 Verdadera Historia
1992 Tributo a Ismael Rivera
1991 Reina del Ritmo Cubano
1991 Canta Celia Cruz
1990 Guarachera del Mundo
1988 Ritmo en el Corazón
1987 Winners
1986 De Nuevo

1986 Candela
1983 Tremendo Trío
1982 Feliz Encuentro
1981 Celia & Willie
1980 Celia/Johnny/Pete
1977 Only They Could Have Made This Album
1976 Recordando El Ayer
1975 Tremendo Caché
1974 Celia & Johnny
1971 Celia Y Tito Puente en España
1970 Etc. Etc. Etc.
1969 Quimbo Quimbumbia
1968 Serenata Guajira
1968 Excitante
1967 A Ti México
1967 Bravo Celia Cruz
1966 Son con Guaguancó
1966 Cuba Y Puerto Rico Son
1965 Sabor y Ritmo de Pueblos
1965 Canciones Premiadas
1959 Mi Diario Musical
1958 Incomparable Celia

Grammy awards
Year Category Recording
Grammy Awards
1990 Best Tropical Latin Performance Ritmo En El Corazon (Rhythm in the Heart)
2003 Best Salsa Album La Negra Tiene Tumbao (The Black Lady Has Rhythm/Attitude)
2003 Best Salsa/Merengue Album Regalo Del Alma (Gift From The Soul)
Latin Grammy Awards
2000 Best Salsa Performance Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night Of Salsa
2001 Best Tropical Traditional Album Siempre Viviré (I Will Survive)
2002 Best Salsa Album La Negra Tiene Tumbao
2004 Best Salsa Album Regalo Del Alma

Videos: Celia Cruz

Contrapunto Musical

La Negra Tiene Tumbao

Oye Como Va

Rie Y Llora


	# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
	Videos: Celia Cruz Contrapunto Musical La Negra Tiene Tumbao Oye Como Va Rie Y Llora Celia Cruz (born Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums. She was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba." She spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. Celia Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said "Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban music." 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". Cruz was born October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez neighborhood in Havana, 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. While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians that later influenced her adult career, such as Paulina Alvarez, Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo, Arsenio Rodríguez, and Arcaño y sus Maravillas. Celia Cruz also studied the words to Yoruba songs with colleague Mercedita Valdes (an Akpwon santeria singer) from Cuba and Celia made various recordings of this religious genre singing even back up for other female akpwons like Candita Batista.[4] 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.[citation needed] Career Dexter Lehtinen, Celia Cruz, Alonso R. del Portillo, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, and Pedro Knight in May 1992 In 1950, Cruz made her first major breakthrough, after the lead singer of the Sonora Matancera, a renowned Cuban orchestra, left the group and Cruz was called to fill in. Cruz was hired permanently by the orchestra, but she wasn't well accepted by the public at first. However, the orchestra stood by their decision, and soon Cruz became famous throughout Cuba. During the 15 years she was a member, the band traveled all over Latin America, becoming known as "Café Con Leche" (coffee with milk). Cruz became known for her trademark shout "¡Azúcar!" ("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".[citation needed] With Fidel Castro assuming control of Cuba in 1959, Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. In 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records). With the Fania All-Stars, Cruz had the opportunity of visiting England, France, Zaire (Today's DR Congo), and to return to tour Latin America; her performance in Zaire is included in the film Soul Power.[5] In the late 1970s, she participated in an Eastern Air Lines commercial in Puerto Rico, singing the catchy phrase ¡Esto sí es volar! (This really is flying!). Celia Cruz used to sing the identifying spot for WQBA radio station in Miami, formerly known as "La Cubanísima" : "I am the voice of Cuba, from this land, far away,..., I am liberty, I am WQBA, the most Cuban! (Yo soy de Cuba, la voz, desde esta tierra lejana, ..., soy libertad, soy WQBA, Cubanísima!) During the 1980s, Cruz made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 Hollywood production of Salsa, alongside Robby Draco Rosa. 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 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. 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 2006 Dionne Warwick album My Friends & Me. Death The mausoleum of Celia Cruz in Woodlawn Cemetery. On July 16, 2003, Cruz 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. Legacy Celia Cruz Plaza in Union City, New Jersey. In February 2004, Cruz's 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-American community of Union City, New Jersey heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new Celia Cruz Park (also known as Celia Cruz Plaza), which features a sidewalk star in her honor, at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower, Pedro Knight, present. There are four other similar dedications to Cruz around the world.[6] Cruz's star has expanded into Union City's "Walk of Fame",[7] as new marble stars are added each spring to honor Latin entertainment and media personalities, such as merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, Cuban musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Cuban tenor Beny Moré,[8] Tito Puente, Spanish language television news anchor Rafael Pineda, salsa pioneer Johnny Pacheco,[9] singer/bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa and music promoter Ralph Mercado.[10] 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. On September 26, 2007, through May 25, 2008, Celia, a musical based on the life of Celia Cruz, played at the off-Broadway venue, New World Stages. Some performances were in Spanish and some in English. The show won four 2008 HOLA awards from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.[11] Discography 2003 Homenaje a Beny Moré 2003 Celia & Johnny 2003 Dios Disfrute a la Reina 2003 Son Boleros, Boleros Son 2003 Reina de la Música Cubana 2003 Regalo del Alma 2003 Más Grande Historia Jamás Cantada 2003 Estrellas de la Sonora Matancera 2003 Celia in the House: Classic Hits Remixed 2003 Carnaval de la Vida 2003 Candela Pura 2002 Unrepeatable 2002 Hits Mix 2001 La Negra Tiene Tumbao 2000 Siempre Viviré 2000 Salsa 2000 Habanera 2000 Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa 1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 3 1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 2 1999 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 1 1999 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 5 1999 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 4 1998 Mi Vida Es Cantar 1998 Afro-Cubana 1997 También Boleros 1997 Duets 1997 Cambiando Ritmos 1996 Celia Cruz Delta 1995 Irresistible 1995 Festejando Navidad 1995 Double Dynamite 1995 Cuba's Queen of Rhythm 1994 Merengue Saludos Amigos 1994 Mambo del Amor 1994 Irrepetible 1994 Homenaje a Los Santos 1994 Guaracheras de La Guaracha 1993 Introducing 1993 Homenaje a Beny Moré, Vol. 3 1993 Boleros Polydor 1993 Azucar Negra 1992 Verdadera Historia 1992 Tributo a Ismael Rivera 1991 Reina del Ritmo Cubano 1991 Canta Celia Cruz 1990 Guarachera del Mundo 1988 Ritmo en el Corazón 1987 Winners 1986 De Nuevo 1986 Candela 1983 Tremendo Trío 1982 Feliz Encuentro 1981 Celia & Willie 1980 Celia/Johnny/Pete 1977 Only They Could Have Made This Album 1976 Recordando El Ayer 1975 Tremendo Caché 1974 Celia & Johnny 1971 Celia Y Tito Puente en España 1970 Etc. Etc. Etc. 1969 Quimbo Quimbumbia 1968 Serenata Guajira 1968 Excitante 1967 A Ti México 1967 Bravo Celia Cruz 1966 Son con Guaguancó 1966 Cuba Y Puerto Rico Son 1965 Sabor y Ritmo de Pueblos 1965 Canciones Premiadas 1959 Mi Diario Musical 1958 Incomparable Celia Grammy awards Year Category Recording Grammy Awards 1990 Best Tropical Latin Performance Ritmo En El Corazon (Rhythm in the Heart) 2003 Best Salsa Album La Negra Tiene Tumbao (The Black Lady Has Rhythm/Attitude) 2003 Best Salsa/Merengue Album Regalo Del Alma (Gift From The Soul) Latin Grammy Awards 2000 Best Salsa Performance Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night Of Salsa 2001 Best Tropical Traditional Album Siempre Viviré (I Will Survive) 2002 Best Salsa Album La Negra Tiene Tumbao 2004 Best Salsa Album Regalo Del Alma
	Tweet