Celia Cruz reigned for decades as the “Queen of Salsa,” with her signature shout of “¡Azúúúcar!” expressing in Spanish her music’s brand of joy and optimism. Twenty-two years after her death, the Cuban powerhouse singer still captivates her fans.
The petite woman with a raspy voice wore tight, glittering dresses and colorful wigs and danced in high heels while singing her hit Spanish-language songs such as “La negra tiene tumbao” and “Ríe y llora.”
Born Oct. 21, 1925, Ms. Cruz began her career in Cuba in 1940 and continued it in exile, producing more than 70 international albums and winning multiple Grammy Awards and Latin Grammys.
She moved to New York in 1961, and brought her musical Cuban roots and mixed them with Puerto Rican and later Dominican rhythms, helping to usher the birth of salsa as a popular Latino genre in the United States.
“When people hear me sing,” she said in an interview with The New York Times in 1985, “I want them to be happy, happy, happy. I don’t want them thinking about when there’s not any money, or when there’s fighting at home. My message is always ‘felicidad’ — happiness.”
Ms. Cruz died in 2003 at her longtime home in Fort Lee, N.J., from complications after a surgery for a brain tumor. She was 77. Following a tour of her coffin in Miami, masses of fans honored her at a public viewing in New York City.
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Source: Music - nytimes.com
