Hello, those were the days when a plain singer could become a star, i guess a few decades ago people weren't bombarded with imagery whilst radio ruled, specially in the socalled 2nd world (latin america). These days today's artist would have a tough time to become a global star, which she undoubtely was during the last 3 decades of the last century, but then she was a persona non grata to the Fidel regime which automatically showered her with recognition by the communist hating US and it's submissive allys, a cold war star if there ever was one.
Today's artist was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and her trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, she "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose.".....N'Joy
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Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez in Havana, Cuba, the second of four children. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railroad stoker and her mother, Catalina Alfonso was a homemaker who took care of an extended family. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children- brothers, sisters, and many cousins- she often had to put the younger ones to bed by singing them to sleep. While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo and Arsenio Rodríguez. Despite her father's opposition and the fact that she was Catholic, as a child Cruz learned Santería songs from her neighbor who practiced Santería.
As a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to attend school in the hope she would become a teacher. After high school she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana with the intent of becoming a literature teacher. At the time being a singer was not viewed as an entirely respectable career. However, one of her teachers told her that as an entertainer she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. Cruz's big break came in 1950 when Myrta Silva, the singer with Cuba's Sonora Matancera, returned to her native Puerto Rico. Since they were in need of a new singer, the band decided to give the young Celia Cruz a chance. She auditioned in June, and at the end of July she was asked to join as lead singer.[10] She won the support of Sonora's band leader, Rogelio Martínez, and went on to record hits such as "Yembe Laroco" and "Caramelo". Soon her name was bigger than the band's. During her 15 years with Sonora Matancera, she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as Rincón criollo (1950), Una gallega en La Habana (1955) and Amorcito corazón (1961), toured all over Latin America, and became a regular at Havana's famous Tropicana nightspot.
After Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba in 1959, when the Sonora Matancera left Cuba to perform in Mexico in June 1960, they did not return. Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, were prohibited from returning to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. In 1965, Cruz left the group and in 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records).
In 1976, she participated in a documentary film Salsa about the Latin culture, along with figures like Dolores del Río and Willie Colón. She also made three albums with Willie Colon (1977, 1981, 1987). With a voice described as operatic, Cruz moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavor to salsa. Her flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution. During the 1980s, Cruz began to garner the international recognition that was her due, she made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 feature film Salsa alongside Robby Draco Rosa.
In 1990, Cruz won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance – Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz – Ritmo en el Corazón. She later recorded an anniversary album with Sonora Matancera. In the same year, she was recipient of the Excellence Award at the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards. In 1992, she starred with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas in the film The Mambo Kings. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level after she appeared in the The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild.In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. In the same year, she was inducted into Billboards Latin Music Hall of Fame along with fellow Cuban musician Cachao López. In 1999, Cruz was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign.
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Although fans may have had high expectations for the first album recorded by Celia Cruz after she moved to one of the top labels in Latin music (Tico), Son con Guaguanco doesn't disappoint in the least. The record, produced by Al Santiago and featuring perhaps the best salsa band ever formed (the Alegre All Stars), positively sizzles with heat and energy. With tight arrangements, a crack group behind her, and no down-tempo material in sight, Cruz lets it all out, while the sections (brass, wind, percussion) follow her every move and inject more energy between the lines. Highlights include the opening "Bemba Colora," the title song, and "No Hay Manteca."
Celia Cruz - Son Con Guaguancó (flac 213mb)
01 Bemba Colora 3:30
02 Son Con Guaguanco 2:45
03 Es La Humanidad 2:23
04 Lo Mismo Si, Que No 2:55
05 Oye Mi Consejo 2:45
06 Se Me Perdió La Cartera 2:30
07 Tremendo Guaguancó 3:07
08 Permíteme 2:30
09 No Hay Manteca 2:30
10 El Cohete 2:40
11 La Adivinanza 2:48
12 Amarra La Yegua 3:10
Celia Cruz - Son Con Guaguancó (ogg 94mb)
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Being so used to Celia Super Star, it's hard to believe that by 1974, she was definitely the older generation as far as the young idea was concerned. Then came this record, pairing the star of the parents and the star of the kids in a stroke of musical brilliance and marketing genius. The rest is history, except that this -- the first of the series -- was also the best.
Celia Cruz - Celia (& Johnny Pacheco) (flac 292mb)
01 Quimbara 4:55
02 Toro Mata 5:38
03 Vieja Luna 3:12
04 El Paso Del Mulo 4:40
05 Tengo El Idde 4:59
06 Lo Tuyo Es Mental 3:12
07 Canto A La Habana 5:30
08 No Mercedes 4:16
09 El Tumbao Y Celia 4:51
10 El Pregon Del Pascador 5:03
Celia Cruz - Celia (& Johnny Pacheco) (ogg 127mb)
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Just one year after their Celia & Johnny album produced the massive hit "Quimbara," Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco were back for Tremendo Caché. Nearly a ringer for its excellent predecessor, the album kicked off right with the heavily risque "Cucala," which Cruz pulled off with panache. The band is identical to that played on Celia & Johnny, with powerful arrangements coming from Pacheco, Bobby Valentín, and Pappo Lucca, among others. For those who feared a letdown from an album coming so soon after their first collaboration, Tremendo Caché was quite an achievement.
Celia Cruz - Tremendo Caché (with Johnny Pacheco) (flac 230mb)
01 Cucala 3:48
02 Orizah Eh 4:15
03 Tres Dias De Carnaval 4:58
04 No Me Hables De Amor 3:19
05 Dime Si Llegue A Tiempo 3:49
06 La Sopa En Botella 5:08
07 De La Verdegue 3:00
08 Ni Hablar 3:11
09 Rico Changi 4:22
10 No Aguanto Mas 3:31
Celia Cruz - Tremendo Caché (with Johnny Pacheco) (ogg 102mb)
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Introducing is far from Celia Cruz's debut; it was originally released in 1978, well into the Cuban-born superstar's third decade as one of the biggest stars in salsa. Her first album for the Fania label after a long and fruitful association with Tito Puente on the Tico label, this album shows that Cruz was still at the top of her game even without Puente's input. A strictly traditional salsa record with no period-specific elements to court the mainstream audience (no attempts at disco crossover, in other words), Introducing contains some of Cruz's most beloved songs, including feisty versions of standards like "Bemba Colora" and "Cucala," along with charming lesser-known tunes like "Historia de Una Rumba." By this point in her career, Celia Cruz knew exactly what she was all about, and so Introducing contains none of the sometimes-misguided pop cover versions of her earlier years. The album so straightforwardly arranged and recorded that it could have been recorded at any point in her career.
Celia Cruz - Introducing... Celia Cruz (flac 414mb)
01 Quimbara 4:49
02 Soy Antillana 6:12
03 A Santa Barbara 3:27
04 Yerbero Moderno 4:35
05 Ritmo Tambor Y Flores 5:27
06 Sabroso Son Cubano 2:50
07 Bemba Colora 3:23
08 Me Voy Contigo 5:55
09 Cucala 3:45
10 Cuando Tu Me Quieras 2:26
11 Besitos De Coco 4:25
12 Berimbau 5:10
13 El Tumbao Y Celia 4:51
14 Historia De Una Rumba 5:30
15 Bombora Quina 2:43
16 Aye Mi Cuba 4:53
Celia Cruz - Introducing... Celia Cruz (ogg 177mb)
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Today's artist was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and her trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, she "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose.".....N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez in Havana, Cuba, the second of four children. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railroad stoker and her mother, Catalina Alfonso was a homemaker who took care of an extended family. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children- brothers, sisters, and many cousins- she often had to put the younger ones to bed by singing them to sleep. While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo and Arsenio Rodríguez. Despite her father's opposition and the fact that she was Catholic, as a child Cruz learned Santería songs from her neighbor who practiced Santería.
As a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to attend school in the hope she would become a teacher. After high school she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana with the intent of becoming a literature teacher. At the time being a singer was not viewed as an entirely respectable career. However, one of her teachers told her that as an entertainer she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. Cruz's big break came in 1950 when Myrta Silva, the singer with Cuba's Sonora Matancera, returned to her native Puerto Rico. Since they were in need of a new singer, the band decided to give the young Celia Cruz a chance. She auditioned in June, and at the end of July she was asked to join as lead singer.[10] She won the support of Sonora's band leader, Rogelio Martínez, and went on to record hits such as "Yembe Laroco" and "Caramelo". Soon her name was bigger than the band's. During her 15 years with Sonora Matancera, she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as Rincón criollo (1950), Una gallega en La Habana (1955) and Amorcito corazón (1961), toured all over Latin America, and became a regular at Havana's famous Tropicana nightspot.
After Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba in 1959, when the Sonora Matancera left Cuba to perform in Mexico in June 1960, they did not return. Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, were prohibited from returning to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. In 1965, Cruz left the group and in 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records).
In 1976, she participated in a documentary film Salsa about the Latin culture, along with figures like Dolores del Río and Willie Colón. She also made three albums with Willie Colon (1977, 1981, 1987). With a voice described as operatic, Cruz moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavor to salsa. Her flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution. During the 1980s, Cruz began to garner the international recognition that was her due, she made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 feature film Salsa alongside Robby Draco Rosa.
In 1990, Cruz won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance – Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz – Ritmo en el Corazón. She later recorded an anniversary album with Sonora Matancera. In the same year, she was recipient of the Excellence Award at the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards. In 1992, she starred with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas in the film The Mambo Kings. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level after she appeared in the The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild.In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. In the same year, she was inducted into Billboards Latin Music Hall of Fame along with fellow Cuban musician Cachao López. In 1999, Cruz was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Although fans may have had high expectations for the first album recorded by Celia Cruz after she moved to one of the top labels in Latin music (Tico), Son con Guaguanco doesn't disappoint in the least. The record, produced by Al Santiago and featuring perhaps the best salsa band ever formed (the Alegre All Stars), positively sizzles with heat and energy. With tight arrangements, a crack group behind her, and no down-tempo material in sight, Cruz lets it all out, while the sections (brass, wind, percussion) follow her every move and inject more energy between the lines. Highlights include the opening "Bemba Colora," the title song, and "No Hay Manteca."
Celia Cruz - Son Con Guaguancó (flac 213mb)
01 Bemba Colora 3:30
02 Son Con Guaguanco 2:45
03 Es La Humanidad 2:23
04 Lo Mismo Si, Que No 2:55
05 Oye Mi Consejo 2:45
06 Se Me Perdió La Cartera 2:30
07 Tremendo Guaguancó 3:07
08 Permíteme 2:30
09 No Hay Manteca 2:30
10 El Cohete 2:40
11 La Adivinanza 2:48
12 Amarra La Yegua 3:10
Celia Cruz - Son Con Guaguancó (ogg 94mb)
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Being so used to Celia Super Star, it's hard to believe that by 1974, she was definitely the older generation as far as the young idea was concerned. Then came this record, pairing the star of the parents and the star of the kids in a stroke of musical brilliance and marketing genius. The rest is history, except that this -- the first of the series -- was also the best.
Celia Cruz - Celia (& Johnny Pacheco) (flac 292mb)
01 Quimbara 4:55
02 Toro Mata 5:38
03 Vieja Luna 3:12
04 El Paso Del Mulo 4:40
05 Tengo El Idde 4:59
06 Lo Tuyo Es Mental 3:12
07 Canto A La Habana 5:30
08 No Mercedes 4:16
09 El Tumbao Y Celia 4:51
10 El Pregon Del Pascador 5:03
Celia Cruz - Celia (& Johnny Pacheco) (ogg 127mb)
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Just one year after their Celia & Johnny album produced the massive hit "Quimbara," Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco were back for Tremendo Caché. Nearly a ringer for its excellent predecessor, the album kicked off right with the heavily risque "Cucala," which Cruz pulled off with panache. The band is identical to that played on Celia & Johnny, with powerful arrangements coming from Pacheco, Bobby Valentín, and Pappo Lucca, among others. For those who feared a letdown from an album coming so soon after their first collaboration, Tremendo Caché was quite an achievement.
Celia Cruz - Tremendo Caché (with Johnny Pacheco) (flac 230mb)
01 Cucala 3:48
02 Orizah Eh 4:15
03 Tres Dias De Carnaval 4:58
04 No Me Hables De Amor 3:19
05 Dime Si Llegue A Tiempo 3:49
06 La Sopa En Botella 5:08
07 De La Verdegue 3:00
08 Ni Hablar 3:11
09 Rico Changi 4:22
10 No Aguanto Mas 3:31
Celia Cruz - Tremendo Caché (with Johnny Pacheco) (ogg 102mb)
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Introducing is far from Celia Cruz's debut; it was originally released in 1978, well into the Cuban-born superstar's third decade as one of the biggest stars in salsa. Her first album for the Fania label after a long and fruitful association with Tito Puente on the Tico label, this album shows that Cruz was still at the top of her game even without Puente's input. A strictly traditional salsa record with no period-specific elements to court the mainstream audience (no attempts at disco crossover, in other words), Introducing contains some of Cruz's most beloved songs, including feisty versions of standards like "Bemba Colora" and "Cucala," along with charming lesser-known tunes like "Historia de Una Rumba." By this point in her career, Celia Cruz knew exactly what she was all about, and so Introducing contains none of the sometimes-misguided pop cover versions of her earlier years. The album so straightforwardly arranged and recorded that it could have been recorded at any point in her career.
Celia Cruz - Introducing... Celia Cruz (flac 414mb)
01 Quimbara 4:49
02 Soy Antillana 6:12
03 A Santa Barbara 3:27
04 Yerbero Moderno 4:35
05 Ritmo Tambor Y Flores 5:27
06 Sabroso Son Cubano 2:50
07 Bemba Colora 3:23
08 Me Voy Contigo 5:55
09 Cucala 3:45
10 Cuando Tu Me Quieras 2:26
11 Besitos De Coco 4:25
12 Berimbau 5:10
13 El Tumbao Y Celia 4:51
14 Historia De Una Rumba 5:30
15 Bombora Quina 2:43
16 Aye Mi Cuba 4:53
Celia Cruz - Introducing... Celia Cruz (ogg 177mb)
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Thank you very much
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