Celia Cruz Biography

Celia Cruz born as Ursula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21st, 1924 in Havana, Cuba was an amazing Cuban singer, who became an iconic singer of salsa music.

Celia Cruz was born to Catalina Alfonso and Simon Cruz, a railroad employee. Celia Cruz grew up listening to the music of several celebrity singers of her time like Paulina Alvarez, Arcano y sus Maravillas, Fernando Collazo, Arsenio Rodriguez, Abelardo Barroso, and Pablo Quevedo. During her teens, Celia’s aunt encouraged her and her cousin to sing at cabarets, while her father put her in school to make her a Spanish language teacher.

But in those days in Cuba, what entertainers earned in a day teachers earned in a month. So encouraged by her school teachers and her aunt, Celia Cruz plunged into music.

During the early 1940s Celia became a radio singer. She began singing at Havana’s radio station Radio Garcia-Serra’s popular “Hora del Te” [Teatime] broadcast. She used to win cakes as a prize at teatime broadcasts; and winning became a regular feature with Celia Cruz.

As the years went by, Celia Cruz in the year 1950 got her major breakthrough with a famous Cuban orchestra called “La Sonora Matancera”. She was to fill in for one of their lead singers, who abruptly left the band. Within a short time Celia Cruz endeared herself to millions of Cubans. For the next fifteen years, Celia Cruz traveled with the band all over Latin America. The band ‘La Sonora Matancera’ entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as “the group with the longest duration.” When Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1960, Celia Cruz was in Mexico touring with the La Sonora Matancera band. Celia Cruz and the rest of the band instead of returning to Cuba straightaway headed towards United States never to return back to Cuba. Celia soon became a US citizen in 1961.

In 1966, Celia Cruz joined hands with Tito Puente, the association that led to bringing out eight albums for Tico Records label. As the albums couldn’t do much for her musical career, Celia Cruz was signed to Vaya Records label. Celia soon found herself in a group called ‘Fania All Stars’ {owned by Vaya Records}, an ensemble group formed to bring salsa musicians together under one group. Celia Cruz, with the group, Fania All Stars toured extensively the countries like England, France, Zaire and other Latin American countries performing in concerts and television shows throughout the mid-seventies and eighties. Celia Cruz has also appeared in films and television shows.

Celia Cruz musical career spanned over 63 years during which period she recorded more than 75 albums, of which 23 of her albums have been certified gold. Celia Cruz has won three Grammy awards for: “Ritmo En El Corazon” {With Ray Barretto} in 1990; “La Negra Tiene Tumbao” {The Black Girl Has Rhythm} in 2003; and “Regalo Del Alma” {Gift From The Soul} in 2003. Celia has also won Latin Grammy Awards for “Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night Of Salsa” in 2000; “Siempre Vivire” {I Will Always Live} in 2001; “La Negra Tiene Tumbao” in 2002; and “Regalo Del Alma” in 2004 received posthumously.

Celia Cruz became a crossover of sorts singing all forms of music like pop, rock, Latin jazz and dance and music finely blended into salsa - the Cuban-born music. Salsa music which happens to be predominantly a male bastion was conquered by Celia Cruz; and she thus rightly earned the title of “The Queen of Salsa”.

Celia Cruz, “The Queen of Salsa” breathed her last on 16th of July 2003. Celia died of malignant brain tumor at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey. She was survived by her husband Pedro Knight {married July 14th, 1962} and close friend Dwayne B. Her body was taken to Miami to allow her innumerable fans to pay their last respects. Later her body was brought to New York City where hundreds of thousands paid their final respects to the great salsa-woman. Celia Cruz was finally laid to rest at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.