Editing Celia Cruz (section)

== Career ==
[[File:Celia Cruz y La Sonora Matancera.jpg|thumb|right|Celia Cruz in the 1950s with the members of the [[Sonora Matancera]] in Havana]]

=== First recordings ===
[[Isolina Carrillo]] was one of the first people to recognize Cruz's ability to sing Afro-Cuban music and asked her to join her Conjunto Siboney, where [[Olga Guillot]] also sang.<ref name="Bio18">{{cite book |last1=Marceles |first1=Eduardo |title=Azúcar!: The Biography of Celia Cruz |date=2004 |publisher=Reed Press |isbn=9781594290213 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAgUAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref> She later joined Orquesta de Ernesto Duarte, Gloria Matancera, Sonora Caracas and Orquesta Anacaona. From 1947, she started to sing in Havana's most popular cabarets: [[Tropicana Club|Tropicana]], Sans Souci, Bamboo, Topeka, etc.<ref name="GN" /> In 1948, Roderico ''Rodney'' Neyra founded the group of dancers and singers Las Mulatas de Fuego (The Fiery Mulattas).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-08-31|title=La huella inquietante de Las Mulatas de Fuego|url=http://www.desmemoriados.com/la-huella-inquietante-de-las-mulatas-de/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=Desmemoriados...|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-01|title=Celia Cruz and the flag|url=https://oncubanews.com/en/culture/music-culture/celia-cruz-y-la-bandera-2/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=OnCubaNews English|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=HOMENAJE A LA GRAN CELIA CRUZ 'LA GUARACHERA DE CUBA'.|url=http://www.latinafmcolombia.co/2019/10/homenaje-la-gran-celia-cruz-la.html|access-date=2020-07-21|website=Latinafmcolombia.co}}</ref> Cruz was hired with this group as a singer, reaching great success and making presentations in Mexico and [[Venezuela]], where she made her first recordings. Shortly thereafter, Cruz began to sing on musical programs at Radio Cadena Suaritos, along with a group that performed [[Santería]] music under the direction of [[Obdulio Morales]]. With this group, known as Coro Yoruba y Tambores Batá, she made several recordings that were later released by [[Panart]].

=== Sonora Matancera ===
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,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cartlidge |first1=Cherese |title=Celia Cruz |date=2013 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=9781438146072 |pages=28–29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BsNbAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> and thus became the group's first black frontwoman.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Celia Cruz's 'Son Con Guaguancó' And The Bridge To Fame In Exile|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/584004511/celia-cruzs-son-con-guaguanc-and-the-bridge-to-fame-in-exile|access-date=2020-07-17|website=NPR.org|date=13 February 2018 |language=en|last1=Fernández |first1=Stefanie }}</ref> In her first rehearsal with Sonora Matancera, Cruz met her future husband [[Pedro Knight]], who was the band's second trumpeter.

Cruz debuted with the group on 3 August 1950. Initially, Cruz was not received with enthusiasm by the public, but Rogelio Martínez had faith in her. On 15 December 1950, Cruz recorded her first songs with the group, which were a resounding success. Her "musical marriage" with the Sonora Matancera lasted fifteen years. In total Celia recorded 188 songs with the Matancera, including hits such as "Cao cao maní picao", "Mata siguaraya", "Burundanga" and "El yerbero moderno". She won her first gold record for "Burundanga", making her first trip to the United States in 1957 to receive the award and to perform at [[St. Nicholas Arena]], New York.<ref name="GN" /> During her 15 years with [[Sonora Matancera]], she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as {{lang|es|Rincón criollo}} (1950), {{lang|es|Una gallega en La Habana}} (1955) and {{lang|es|Amorcito corazón}} (1961), toured all over Latin America and became a regular at the Tropicana.

=== Exile and Tico recordings ===
Cruz was touring in Mexico when [[Fidel Castro]] seized power at the conclusion of the [[Cuban Revolution]]. She returned to Cuba to find her hometown of Havana in turmoil and mostly shut down.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edelman |first1=Claudia Romo |last2=Alexander |first2=William |title=Hispanic Star: Celia Cruz |date=6 September 2022 |publisher=Roaring Brook Press |isbn=978-1-250-82811-8 |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjlKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |access-date=17 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Cruz was publicly critical of Castro, a stance that she knew would endanger her career and possibly her freedom, since other critics of the regime were regularly arrested. She also needed money to pay for her ailing mother's medical expenses, and when she was offered a contract to perform for a few months at La Terraza Nightclub in [[Mexico City]], she accepted. Cruz left Cuba on 15 July 1960, not knowing that she would likely never return to her home country.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cartlidge |first1=Cherese |title=Celia Cruz |date=2013 |publisher=Infobase Learning |isbn=978-1-4381-4607-2 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BsNbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT40 |access-date=17 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Just one week after arriving in Mexico, Cruz received the news of the death of her father, Simón Cruz. In 1961, Cruz and Sonora Matancera left Mexico for an engagement in the United States. During this period, Cruz began performing solo without the group, performing at a recital at the [[Hollywood Palladium]] in [[Los Angeles]].

In 1962, before the refusal of the Cuban government to allow her to return to Cuba, Cruz acquired a house in [[Fort Lee, New Jersey]]. Although she tried to return to Cuba to see her sick mother, who was struggling with terminal bladder cancer, the Cuban government denied her request to return.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CELIA CRUZ NO DESCANSA EN PAZ|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-1048042|last=Tiempo|first=Casa Editorial El|date=2003-12-26|website=El Tiempo|language=es|access-date=2020-06-01}}</ref> On 7 April 1962, she received the news of the death of her mother Catalina Alfonso. That same year, on 14 July, Cruz was married in civil ceremony with Pedro Knight after a romance of several years. Cruz and Sonora Matancera made their first tour outside of the Americas, visiting [[Europe]] and [[Japan]], where they performed with [[Tito Puente]]. In 1965, Cruz would culminate a vertiginous fifteen years with the Sonora Matancera. Cruz began a solo career and her husband Pedro Knight decided to leave his position at Sonora Matancera to become her representative, arranger and personal director. During this time, Cruz became an American citizen.

In 1966, Cruz was contacted by Tito Puente to perform with his orchestra. Their first collaborative album, {{lang|es|Son con guaguancó}} featured a recording of José Claro Fumero's guaracha "Bemba colorá", which became one of Cruz's signature songs.<ref name=":0" />  Cruz and Puente went on to collaborate on another four albums together. She also recorded albums with other musical directors such as Memo Salamanca, Juan Bruno Tarraza and Lino Frías for [[Tico Records]]. In 1974, [[Fania Records]], the leading [[salsa music|salsa]] record label, acquired Tico and signed Cruz to the imprint Vaya Records, where she remained until 1992.

=== The Fania years ===
[[File:Celia Cruz 1.jpg|thumb|Celia Cruz performing in Paris at the [[Olympia (Paris)|Olympia]] in 1980]]
Cruz's association with the [[Fania Records|Fania label]] had begun in 1973, when she recorded the lead vocals of "Gracia divina", a song by [[Larry Harlow (musician)|Larry Harlow]] which was part of his "Latin opera" ''Hommy''. She then joined the [[Fania All-Stars]], a salsa [[supergroup (music)|supergroup]] featuring the most popular performers of the Fania roster. With them, Cruz first sang "Bemba colorá" and "Diosa del ritmo" in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]] in 1973. She later travelled with the group to [[Kinshasa]], [[Zaire]], in 1974 and returned to San Juan in 1975 for another concert. These live recordings were commercially released years later. Her performance in Zaire, as part of [[The Rumble in the Jungle]] event, was included in the film ''[[Soul Power (film)|Soul Power]]''.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|last=Scott|first=O.A.|title=Music and Musicians Still Echo 35 Years Later|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2009-07-10|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/movies/10soul.html}}</ref>

Cruz recorded her first studio album for Fania in 1974 in collaboration with [[Johnny Pacheco]], the label's founder and musical director. The album, ''Celia & Johnny'', and its lead single, "Quimbara", were both a commercial success. In 1976, she participated in the documentary film ''Salsa'' about Latin culture, along with figures like [[Dolores del Río]] and [[Willie Colón]]. The following year she recorded her first LP with Colón, a collaboration that would be repeated with great success in 1981 and 1987. When touring with Colón, Cruz wore a flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels. Her fashion style became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution.<ref name="Celia Cruz"/> In the late 1970s, she participated in an [[Eastern Air Lines]] commercial in Puerto Rico, singing the catchy phrase {{lang|es|¡Esto sí es volar!}} (''This is to truly fly!''). Cruz also used to sing the identifying spot for WQBA radio station in Miami, formerly known as "La Cubanísima": "I am the voice of Cuba, from this land, far away...I am liberty, I am WQBA, the most Cuban!" ({{lang|es|Yo soy de Cuba, la voz, desde esta tierra lejana... ¡soy libertad, soy WQBA, Cubanísima!}}).

In 1982, Celia was reunited with the Sonora Matancera and recorded the album {{lang|es|Feliz Encuentro}}. That year, the singer received the first tribute of her career at [[Madison Square Garden]] in New York. In 1987, Cruz performed a concert in [[Santa Cruz de Tenerife]]. That concert was recognized by the publisher of the [[Guinness Book of Records]] as the largest free-entry outdoor concert, with an audience of 250,000 people. In 1988, she participated in the feature film ''[[Salsa (1988 film)|Salsa]]'' alongside [[Robby Rosa|Robby Draco Rosa]]. In 1990, Cruz won her first [[Grammy Award]] ([[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album|Best Tropical Latin Performance]]) for her album {{lang|es|Ritmo en el corazón}}, recorded with [[Ray Barretto]]. She was also invited to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Sonora Matancera in [[Central Park]] in New York. The decline of Fania's brand of {{lang|es|[[salsa dura]]}} in favor of the emergent {{lang|es|[[salsa romántica]]}} gradually brought an end to Celia's musical association with the Fania All Stars. Their final reunions took place in Puerto Rico (1994) and Colombia (1995), both of which were released on CD.

===Later years===
[[Image:Cruz and Ros-Lehtinen1992a.jpg|thumb|[[Dexter Lehtinen]], Celia Cruz, Alonso R. del Portillo, Rep. [[Ileana Ros-Lehtinen]], and Pedro Knight in May 1992]]
In 1990, Cruz managed to return to Cuba. She was invited to make a presentation at the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]]. When she came out of this presentation she took a few grams of Cuban soil in a bag; at her request, this bag would later be placed in her coffin when she died. In 1994, she received the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] award from the then President [[Bill Clinton]], which is the highest recognition granted by the United States government to an artist.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-04-24|title=Celia Cruz|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/celia-cruz|access-date=2020-07-17|website=NEA|language=en}}</ref>
Having made musical presentations in Mexican and Cuban films, in 1992 Celia participated as an actress in the American film ''[[Mambo Kings]]'', along with [[Armand Assante]] and [[Antonio Banderas]]. A year later she made her debut as a television actress in the Mexican [[telenovela]] ''[[Valentina (1993 telenovela)|Valentina]]'', along with [[Verónica Castro]] for the [[Televisa]] network. In 1995, Celia made a guest appearance in the American film ''[[The Perez Family]]'', along with [[Alfred Molina]] and [[Anjelica Huston]]. In 1997, she starred again for Televisa in the Mexican telenovela {{lang|es|[[El alma no tiene color]]}}, a remake of the classic Mexican film ''[[Angelitos negros (1948 film)|Angelitos negros]]''. Cruz played the role of a black woman who gives birth to a white daughter. On 25 October 1997, the city of [[San Francisco]], [[California]], officially declared that date as "Celia Cruz Day".

In 1998, she released the album {{lang|es|Mi vida es cantar}}, which featured one of her most successful songs, {{lang|es|[[La vida es un carnaval]]}}. In 1999, she performed with [[Luciano Pavarotti]] for the ''[[Pavarotti and Friends]]'' concert. In 2000, Cruz released a new album under the auspices of [[Sony Music]], ''[[Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa]]'', where she recorded again with Tito Puente, who died shortly after. Thanks to this album, Cruz was awarded her first [[Latin Grammy]]. In 2001, the album {{lang|es|[[Siempre viviré]]}} won her a second Latin Grammy. In that same year, she performed with [[Marc Anthony]] in a tribute to [[Aretha Franklin]] for [[VH1]]. In 2002, Cruz released the album, {{lang|es|[[La Negra Tiene Tumbao|La negra tiene tumbao]]}}, where she ventured into modern variants of Caribbean rhythms, influenced by rap and hip hop. For this record she won her third Latin Grammy and her second American Grammy.

On 16 July 2002, Cruz performed to a full house at the free outdoor performing arts festival [[Central Park SummerStage]] in New York City. During the performance she sang "{{lang|es|[[Bemba colorá]]}}".  A live recording of this song was subsequently made available in 2005 on a commemorative CD honoring the festival's then 20-year history entitled, "Central Park SummerStage: Live from the Heart of the City". Cruz appeared on the [[Dionne Warwick]] albums ''Dionne Sings Dionne'' and ''[[My Friends & Me]]'' with their Latin duet version of "(Do You Know The Way To) San José".