20 years without Celia Cruz, the ‘guarachera of Cuba’ who transcends generations

The death of Celia Cruz paralyzed the world of Latin American music on July 16, 2003, causing a great impact among his followers. When fulfilled today 20 years after his departure, his incomparable voice, energy, humility and his cry of Sugar!, which became his hallmark, they still live among her admirers, even among those who did not know her.

Celia Cruz’s face will be on the 25 cent coins and she will become the first Latina on the US coin

no one forgets either their flashy dresses and bold and colorful wigs making the “queen of salsa” look flawless, a title she earned in her own right in a career spanning five decades, which began in her native Cuba and continued in the US, where she went into exile in 1961.

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz and Alfonso de la Santisima Trinidad (1925-2003), A black and Cuban woman of humble origins, she found her way and triumphed in a genre dominated by men, who loved and respected her.

Today, twenty years after “the Guarachera de Cuba” lose the battle against cancer the Cuban community paid tribute to him by dedicating their parade and float to him in New York, where Mayor Eric Adams July 16, “Celia Cruz Day”, while his followers did not mind the torrential rain and rain attended his mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, including 43-year-old Michael Grazino.

Graziano, wearing a T-shirt with the singer’s face, recalled hearing Cruz for the first time at the age of 9: “I was about to go to sleep when I heard ‘bemba colorá, hear you have the bemba colorá.’ I was mesmerized and I asked my mother who was singing and she insisted that I go to sleep and that I knew who that woman was. He told me ‘Celia Cruz’ and from that day on his name was engraved forever,” he admitted as other admirers recounted EFE that it was important to pay tribute to their queen.

“I remember Celia with the same strength, love and gentleness because she is what has always triumphed in our friendship”, the Cuban singer tells EFE Lucretia, who brought the popular artist to life in a musical and refers to her as if she were alive.

“The admiration I feel for Celia is untouchable for me”confirms and emphasizes that the late singer is “growing up” because young people who did not know her are among her new followers.

Cruz showed an interest in music at an early age, but her father wanted her to be a teacher “one of the few careers a poor black person could study in Cuba” and she gave it up when she was almost done, she recalls in her book Celia in Cuba (1925-1962) the Cuban philologist Rosa Marquetti, about the singer’s career in her country, a period about which not much is known.

He told EFE that he wanted to show that with his book, which will be published in 2022 “Celia is a phenomenon that transcends generations, that she was a diva and that her contribution to Cuban music was enormous” and also put an end to the idea that the Fania orchestra had become famous.

Guayaquil fell in love with salsa with Celia Cruz

“With the Fania, her popularity grew, because she had already traveled and was famous in other countries (before arriving in the US) where she sang with the Sonora Matancera. In Cuba he did lyrical theater, local theater, he was one of the great stars of the Tropicana cabaret and he did a radio soap opera,” he recalled.

He assures that apart from the musical legacy, the singer has left a legacy to Latinas “of her values, her perseverance, intelligence, knowing how to fight for her dreams, her acumen to handle complex situations.”

“She managed to impose herself without losing the human quality, without stepping on anyone’s head and many women identify with that legacy, including me,” she says.

“He respected the audience, he knew who he was, he knew the weight of his name, but also that without that audience he wouldn’t have gotten where he is today.”said Marquetti, who is working on the second part of the artist’s career story.

When his death became known, fans gathered in front of the New York funeral home where his remains were brought and sang while hugging his photos and records, sharing memories for hours.

After nearly a week of mass funerals of popular fervor, during which her remains were veiled in Miami and New York, she was buried in her mausoleum and rests next to her husband Pedro Knight, who died four years later.

His death hasn’t stopped the recognition of this Latin American music icon, and One of the tributes is the launch of the Barbie-Celia Cruz doll next September, and in 2025 will be immortalized in the US on a 25 cent coin.