CELIA CRUZ BIOGRAPHY

HER NAME WAS CELIA CARIDAD CRUZ ALFONZO; SHE WAS BORN IN SANTOS SUAREZ’S HAVANA ON OCTUBER 21 OF 1924. SHE HAD DARK SKIN. SHE HAD HAIR DIFFERENT COLORS. HER PARENS WERE CATALINA ALFONSO AND SIMON CRUZ, HER BROTHERS DOLORES, GLADIS AND BARBARITA. SHE WAS INTERPRETER OF SALSA, GUARACHA, BOLETO AND MAMBO. SHE WAS A SINGER OF SALSA MUSIC ALSO, SHE WAS THE QUEEN OF THIS MUSIC.CELIA WAS KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD BY HER QUALITY AS A SINGER AND BY HER FAMOUS PHRSE “SUGAR”, SIMBOL OF HER PHILOSOPY BEFORE LIFE. THE HAVANA TRERE WAS AN IMPORTANT CENTER COLONIAL AS THE HAVANA VIEJA BECAUSE IT HAS MUSEUMS OF COLONIAL ART, CITY MUSEUMS AND A HOUSE OF THE OBRAPIA. THE MUSIC WAS IMPORTANT FOR HER IN HER CHILDHOOD, BUT HER MUSICAL CAREER WAS A SURPRISE. SHE WAS STUDYING TO BECAME A LITERATURE TEACHER WHEN A COUSIN MOTIVATED HER TO CONTINU WITH MUSIC.AFTER SHE STUDIED HER THEORY OF VOICE AND MUSIC AT THE CONSERVATOIRE IN THE HAVANA,SHE BEGAN SINGING FOR HER BROTHERS AT NIGHTS THEN SHE WENT TO A RADIO CONTEST ALSO SHE WAS EMPLOYED AT CABARETS AND NIGTHT-CLUBS. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE ORCHESTRA “SONORA MATANSERA”. IN 1965 CELIA BEGAN SOLO CAREER WITH A BAND FORMED BY HER AND BY TITO PUENTES. IN 2000 WAS NOMINATED TO THE GRAMMY. SHE WON IT FOR HER ALBUM CELIA AND FRIENDS. IN 2001 SHE WON THE GRAMMY FOR HER DISC “ALWAYS I WILL LIFE”. IN 1962 SHE MARRIED WITH PEDRO KNIGHT. SHE DIES IN NEW YERSEY THE UNITED STATES ON JULY 16 2003.


BY GINA PAOLA CADENA