Exploring Caribbean Connections --Spanish

 Curated Playlist Exploring the Music of: Celia Cruz

Central artist: Celia Cruz 

Description: In this post, I will explore the world of music in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. This curated playlist will focus on the music of Cuban-born singer Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso better known as Celia Cruz. She became known internationally as the Queen of Salsa for her contributions to Latin music. During her time alive she mastered guaracha, rumba, son, afro, and bolero. Even after she left Cuba for the US, she continued to be an ambassador for her country. She even became a spokesperson for the Cuban community that was exiled. Each piece in this playlist is performed inspired by or showcases similar themes used by Celia Cruz.

Playlist

La Guagua-La Sonora Matancera

To start this playlist I thought it made sense to use La Guagua a song performed by La Sonora Mantancera. After all, it is this musical group that helped to start Celia Cruz's career as a recognized vocalist. In this piece, you can hear the musical group playing instruments while Celia accompanies them with her vocals. If you listen closely you can also pick up Guaracha, Afro-Cuban, and Merengue influences. The first two styles that Celia became known for performing in.

Bemba Colora--Celia Cruz

The second piece in the playlist is Bemba Colora . In the 1960s Celia worked with Tito Puente to create Bemba Colora. Tito Puente was an American musician,  songwriter, and record producer. He was famous for composing dancing Latin jazz music.  This is evident from the song Bemba Colora which is a song that is easy to dance to. It makes sense why this became one of Ceelia's most popular songs. This piece shows Celia performing the song live in 1970.

The third piece in the playlist is a next performance of Bemba Colora.  This was a next live performance done by Celia with a live band and backup singers. I want you to listen to the sound of Celia's voice. It is strong and has so much power. The reason this piece was included in the playlist is because it was done in 1999. At this time Celia would have been in her 70s, but listening to her voice I feel you could not tell. In my opinion, she sounds better in this performance than in the first one. I think this performance is a testament to how talented she was as a vocalist. 

Quimbara- Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco

The fourth song included in the playlist is Quimbara performed by Celia Cruz and Dominican artist Johnny Pacheco. Quimbara ended up being the lead single for Celia and Johnny's joint album called Celia & Johnny which was released in 1974. This song helped her to become strongly associated with salsa and eventually earn her name as the Queen of Salsa.

La vida es un carnaval-Celia Cruz

La vida es un carnaval is a next salsa song performed by Celia Cruz. The song was released as the lead single from her final studio album Mi Vida Es Cantar. This song has become one of her signature songs that she is well known for. If you listen to the rhythm of the song you can tell it is performed in her famous salsa dance style. From the music starts playing it makes you want to dance. 

La Negra tiene Tumbao- Celia Cruz ft. Mikey Perfecto

The final piece in the playlist is a life performance of La Negra tiene Tumbao done by Celia Cruz and Mikey Perfecto. Mikey Perfecto is a reggaetón singer who took inspiration from Celia. If you listen to Mikey's part you can hear him singing in a reggaetón style even though it is in Spanish. La Negra tiene Tumbao is a next one of Celia's signature songs. In this performance, she is suffering from brain cancer but she still sings beautifully. This piece shows her love and dedication to singing and performing salsa music. 

References

References

Celia Cruz | PureHistory. (2014, May 14). https://purehistory.org/celia-cruz/

ORIGIN OF THE CUBAN MUSIC: Biography of Celia Cruz (Video) * * ORIGEN DE LA MÚSICA CUBANA: Biografía de Celia Cruz (Video). | The History, Culture and Legacy of the People of Cuba. (2014, March 5). https://www.thecubanhistory.com/2014/03/origen-de-la-musica-cubana-biografia-de-celia-cruz-video/

UNIVISION ANUNCIA LOS GANADORES DEL PREMIO LO NUESTRO 2003 | Entretenimiento | Hispanic PR Wire - The Premier News Distribution Service Reaching U.S. Hispanic Media and Opinion Leaders. (2014, March 8). Web.archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20140308213037/http://www.hispanicprwire.com/News/es/106/7/univision-anuncia-los-ganadores-del-premio-lo-nuestro-2003/