COURTESY OF OUTREACH COLLEGE
SHE'S BEEN called "the guarachera of Cuba, of the world." For nearly four decades, Celia Cruz has been, and will continue to be, the Queen of Salsa. And while we've been honored in the past with a couple of appearances from her good friend and fellow "royalty," the late Tito Puente, it seemed only a matter of time before Cruz would perform here. Hot! Hot! Hot!
The undisputed Queen of Salsa at
long last brings her firebrand vocal style
and buoyant lyricism to the islands.By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comThat time has come. Even though Cruz is in her 80s, her hearty vocal style belies her age. She's noted for punctuating her forceful singing with the occasional call of "azucar!" (sugar) and her singing is a throwback to her childhood days in Havana, Cuba, where she listened to the calls, chants and cries of street vendors called pregón.
Cruz's recording career is as vital as ever, with her latest album "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" a collaborative effort with the legendary Johnny Pacheco, as well as Sergio George and Isidro Infante.
"They both are very important Latin producers," Cruz said via e-mail recently, "who are the best in the genre of music I do. They have worked with important artists as Marc Anthony, La India, etc. We have worked together before on other albums."
With more than 70 albums to her credit, making her the most prolific of the salseras, Cruz continues to keep up with trends; Puerto Rican musician Mikey Perfecto was invited to contribute a rap on the album's title cut. But the life and persona of Cruz can be found on the biographical track entitled "Corazón de Rumba," with a lyric that translates to "my flag is happiness, and my purpose is to sing."
Born the second of four children in the Santa Suarez barrio of Havana, Cruz studied voice and music theory for three years at the city's Conservatory of Music. She made her name in the '50s with Cuba's most popular orchestra at the time, La Sonora Matancera, headliners of the world-famous (and pre-Communist) Tropicana nightclub and casino.
In 1960, soon after Fidel Castro's revolution, she and the band left Cuba for Mexico, where they would spend about a year before moving to New York City. There she would later record with Tito Puente's band.
The two legends would be featured in the 1992 film "The Mambo Kings," and on her 2001 Grammy-award winning album, "Siempre Vivire," she honored the memory of her late friend with her rendition of his classic hit "Oye Como Va."
and local opening bands Son Caribe and Orquesta SalsAloha Celia Cruz with Yari Moré y su Orquesta
Where: Sheraton Waikiki Grand Ballroom
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $40, $50 and $75
Call: 941-5216
Also: Tomorrow at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
"He was more than a friend to me, he was my brother," Cruz said. "We enjoyed every single moment of our lives on stage together."
Considering the phenomenal success that surrounded the "Buena Vista Social Club" film and album, one would think that someone of Cruz's caliber would at least be acknowledged for her contributions to Cuba's music. Instead, she was branded persona non grata by Castro's government for leaving the country. She was refused entry when her mother was sick and father died, but Cruz said there may still be a slim chance of her returning home. "I hope so, but I will never go there until the present political regime is out of there," she said.
The only remaining surviving link to her years with La Sonora Matancera is her husband, Pedro Knight. She and the trumpet player married in the United States in July 1962, and he remains her protector, manager and musical director.
While respected and revered, Cruz's U.S. popularity hit its height in the early '70s, as young, hip Hispanics came to appreciate and love the firebrand performer. With "salsa" as the catch-all term for all Afro-Cuban music with guaracha, rumba, merengue, charanga and guaguanco rhythms, Cruz rode that music's popularity then with great collaborative efforts with Puente, Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto and the Fania All-Stars.
She would reunite, for the last time, with La Sonora Matancera in 1982 on the "Feliz Encuentro" album.
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