Latest Release
- 24 MAY 2024
- 9 Songs
- La Vida Es un Carnaval: Baile Total · 1998
- Celia & Johnny · 1962
- Boleros (Remastered) · 1993
- El Último Adiós - EP · 2001
- The 'Brillante' Best · 1978
- Siempre Viviré · 2000
- Celia - Single · 2024
- Irrepetible · 1994
- Bamboléo · 1988
- Regalo del Alma · 2003
Essential Albums
- One of the smartest moves salsa bandleader Johnny Pacheco ever made was to lure veteran vocalist Celia Cruz back into the studio after an extended break. His trademark infectious groove, built on lively percussion and horns, proves an ideal match for Cruz's flexible vocals. One of her signature tunes, "Quimbara" is a Cuban rhumba that allows her some joyful interplay with the backup singers. And she gets sensual on the samba "Vieja Luna".
- 2012
- 2024
Artist Playlists
- The Queen of Salsa is here! ¡Azúcar!
Live Albums
- 2016
Appears On
- Timothy The Master
About Celia Cruz
The first time legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz stepped up to a microphone was during an amateur vocal contest at a Havana radio station, where she took home first prize—a cake. ∙ After embracing Afro-Cuban music while at Cuba’s Conservatory of Music, she landed her first major gig in 1950—as a vocalist with big band La Sonora Matancera. ∙ In 1960, Cruz and her future husband, trumpeter Pedro Knight, headed to the US, where she began her solo career fronting a band formed for her by Tito Puente. ∙ Her army of fans crowned her Queen of Salsa due to her electrifying live performances and the 70 albums she released between 1958 and 2003. ∙ Cruz’s bold fashion style was so iconic that the Smithsonian Institution put her trademark orange-red-and-white polka-dot dress and shoes in its permanent collection. ∙ She brought her charisma to the big screen, taking roles in The Mambo Kings and The Perez Family, both about a subject she knew well—Cubans trying their luck in the US. ∙ “La Negra Tiene Tumbao,” a celebration of Black womanhood that blended Afro-Cuban and urban grooves, picked up three Latin Grammy nominations in 2002, while its namesake LP won for Best Salsa Album. ∙ In addition to receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a National Medal of the Arts, she had a street in Miami renamed in her honor: Celia Cruz Way.
- HOMETOWN
- Havana, Cuba
- BORN
- 21 de outubro de 1925
- GENRE
- Salsa and Tropical