CELIA CRUZ

October 21, 1925 - July 15, 2003

Celia Cruz was born in Havana, Cuba in 1925. She was an Afro-Cuban-American. Her parents
were Catalina Alfonso and Simon Cruz. She was one of the most successful Cuban performers, with 23
gold albums. Celia wasn’t going to be a singer, her father’s wishes was for her to be a teacher. She
first started singing in a strip bar in South America for a radio station. Celia’s first recording was in
1948 in Venezuela. In 1950 was her major breakthrough, she was the lead singer of the Sonora
Mantancera. She became known for her trademark shout “Azucar!” During the 1980’s she made
many tours, doing many concerts and television shows wherever she went. Celia won a Grammy
Award in 1990 for Best Tropical Latin Performance. Cruz recorded over 70 albums. Having lighted
the stage for over four decades, she now lays in peace in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

I greatly admire Celia because wherever she went she brought life and a big smile. She
made so many people because she was always so vibrant and happy. Her music and her “Azucar”
puts a smile to my face. I like the way she made her music hers – she composed her own lyrics and
expressed her feelings as a woman – I would definitely consider her a strong woman. I know that
there are many Cuban musicians, but her music was the best. After all these years I can still sing to
one of her songs called Carnaval, I love it.

Marlene Contreras