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Celia Cruz

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Wikimp3 information about the music of Celia Cruz. On our website we have 70 albums and 70 collections of artist Celia Cruz. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Celia Cruz represents Salsa genres.

Biography

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Celia Cruz was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, Cruz, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and Cruz's trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, Cruz "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose."

One of 14 children, born in the small village of Barrio Santos Suarez, Havana, Cruz was drawn to music from an early age. Her first pair of shoes was a gift from a tourist for whom she sang. In addition to spending many evenings singing her younger siblings to sleep, Cruz sang in school productions and community gatherings. Taken to cabarets and nightclubs by an aunt, she was introduced to the world of professional music. At the encouragement of a cousin, Cruz began to enter and win local talent shows. Although her father attempted to guide her toward a career as a teacher, Cruz continued to be lured by music. In a 1997 interview, she said, "I have fulfilled my father's wish to be a teacher as, through my music, I teach generations of people about my culture and the happiness that is found in just living life. As a performer, I want people to feel their hearts sing and their spirits soar." Enrolling in Cuba's Conservatory of Music in 1947, Cruz found her earliest inspiration in the singing of Afro-Cuban vocalist Paulina Alvarez. Her first break came when she was invited to join the band la Sonora Matancera in 1950. The group was revered as the Latin equivalent of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Cruz remained with the group for 15 years, touring throughout the world. She married the band's trumpet player Pedro Knight on July 14, 1962. With Fidel Castro's assuming control of Cuba in 1960, Cruz and Knight refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. Although they initially signed to perform with the orchestra of the Hollywood Palladium, Cruz and Knight eventually settled in New York. Knight became Cruz's manager in 1965, a position he held until the mid-'90s when he began to devote his attention to serving as her musical director and conductor of her band.

Leaving Sonora Matancera's band in 1965, Cruz launched her solo career with a band formed for her by Tito Puente. Despite releasing eight albums together, the collaboration failed to achieve commercial success. Cruz and Puente resumed their partnership with a special appearance at the Grammy Award ceremonies in 1987. Signed by Vaya, the sister label of Fania, Cruz recorded with Oscar D'Leon, Cheo Feliciano, and Hector Rodriquez in the mid- to late '60s. Cruz's first success since leaving Sonora Matancera came in 1974 when she recorded a duo album, Celia & Johnny, with Johnny Pacheco, trombone player and the co-owner of Fania. She subsequently began appearing with the Fania All Stars. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level when she appeared in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild. In 1998, Cruz released Duets, an album featuring her singing with Willie Colon, Angela Carrasco, Oscar D'Leon, Jose Alberto "El Canario," and la India. Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign.

Title: Reina Rumba

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: La Isla Del Encanto

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Pussy Cat

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin Folk

Title: Tatalibaba

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Palmeras Tropicales

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Salsa Divas

Artist: India, Celia Cruz

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: La Sopa En Botella

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Cao Cao Mani Picao

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Sigo Esperando

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Exitos Eternos

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: A Su Memoria

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Facundo

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Poco A Poco

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Tu Voz

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Mis Favoritas

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: World Music, Latin

Title: Queen Of The Rumba

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Exitos Latinos

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Bonco

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: La Danza Del Cocoye

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Rico Changüi

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Caramelos

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Yembe Laroca

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Cachunga

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Nadie Me Lo Quita

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Yemaya

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Juntitos Tu Y Yo

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Adore

Artist: Celia Cruz, La Sonora Matancera

Genre: Latin

Title: El Guajirito Contento

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Nostalgia Habanera

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Ya Llego El Carnaval

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Title: Anthology CD2

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Salsa

Title: Latin Diva

Artist: Celia Cruz

Genre: Latin

Collections

Title: Cosmo Latino CD2

Genre: Latin

Title: Cosmo Latino CD3

Genre: Latin

Title: Zumba Hits Vol. 1

Genre: Latin

Title: Pure... Cuba (CD1)

Genre: Pop

Title: Pure... Cuba (CD2)

Genre: Pop

Title: Pura Salsa

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Mi Salsa Vol. 1

Genre: Salsa

Title: Mis Cumbias Vol. 1

Genre: Latin

Title: Mi Salsa Vol. 7

Genre: Salsa

Title: Mi Salsa Vol. 4

Genre: Salsa

Title: Salsa Buena 3

Genre: Salsa

Title: Mi Salsa Vol. 2

Genre: Salsa

Title: This Is Cuba!

Genre: Jazz, Latin

Title: Salsa Explosion!

Genre: Latin

Featuring albums

Title: Grandes Exitos: India

Artist: India

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Exitos Eternos

Artist: Tito Puente

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: 21st Century Masters

Artist: India

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Asere

Artist: Willy Chirino

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Commitment

Artist: Fania All Stars

Genre: Salsa, Latin

Title: Bailes Cubanos

Artist: Waa

Genre: Latin

Title: Voces de Siempre

Artist: Luis Arismendi

Genre: Latin

Title: Sobre El Fuego

Artist: India

Genre: World Music, Latin

Title: Fiesta Latina

Artist: Various

Genre: World Music, Latin, Pop

Genres