In 1974, Celia joined the label and recorded “ Celia y Johnny” with Johnny Pacheco. The group was central to the new sound developing in the 1960s and ‘70s – music born of Cuban and Afro-Latin mixed musical tradition – which came to be known as “Salsa.” A new record label, “Fania,” was launched, devoted solely to the genre. Her flamboyant attire and magnetic personality meteorically expanded the group’s fan base.
Pedro Knight and Celia CruzĬelia joined the Tito Puente Orchestra in the mid–1960’s. In fact, Celia never returned to her homeland. Fidel Castro was so enraged by Cruz’s defection, he barred her from returning to Cuba. In 1961, she moved to the U.S., and married Pedro Knight, her longtime friend and trumpet player. Las Mulatas del Fuego CELIA IN NEW YORKĪs the Cuban Revolution raged in 1960, Celia (touring in concert in Mexico at the time), made the decision not to return to the island. Over the next years with the orchestra, her star continued to rise. In 1950, she became the lead female singer for La Sonora Matancera, Cuba’s most popular orchestra. She was hired as the singer for Las Mulatas Del Fuego, a dance group that traveled throughout Latin America. In the late 1940’s, she competed on an amateur radio show contest called “The Tea Hour.” As a result of her growing radio fame, she came to the attention of influential producers and musicians. Although her father wanted her to become a teacher, she followed her heart and chose music instead, studying voice, theory and piano at Havana’s National Conservatory of Music. Her career began in earnest as a teenager, when her aunt and cousin took her to cabarets to perform. In addition to singing her siblings to sleep, Celia sang in school productions and community gatherings. Legend has it that her first pair of shoes was actually a gift from a tourist for whom she sang. First CommunionĬelia was drawn to music from an early age. In a career that spanned six decades, Celia became the “Queen of Salsa,” and was central to the genre’s rising popularity. In 2002, he founded The Celia Cruz Foundation, a non-profit organization with the purpose of providing scholarships for music education, and also founded The Celia Cruz Legacy Project, an organization which celebrates Cruz’s accomplishments, and keeps the Queen of Salsa’s legacy alive.Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso – Celia Cruz – was born in 1925 in Barrio Santos Suarez in Havana, one of 4 children. This relationship proved to be key in the singer’s career: she earned three GRAMMYs and five Latin GRAMMYs, and embarked on the most successful part of her legendary career. Omer was responsible for negotiating the most important recording deal in Celia Cruz’ career with Sony Music Entertainment. In 1998, he became Celia Cruz’s personal manager handling business, creative and personal aspects of her career. At RMM, where he handled publicity for celebrities such as Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony and Tito Puente. He began his career in 1992 in the Media Relations Department at RMM Records in New York. Omer Pardillo-Cid is a GRAMMY®, Latin GRAMMY® and Emmy-winning producer and talent manager. The Cuban would like to thank Omer Pardillo-Cid for curating the Forever Celia exhibit. With access to never-before-seen personal effects and private papers from her estate, a dazzling display of her signature performance wardrobe spanning the decades, many original and unpublished photographs from Cuba before her exile and throughout her career, museum goers will get to know Celia’s heart as well as her legendary voice and iconic image. Making her home in New York, she was a key figure in the 1970s salsa explosion, and went on to record multiple Grammy-award winning albums and tour the world. The exhibit will guide visitors from her early life in Havana’s Santos Suarez neighborhood through her years touring with the Sonora Matancera and on to her life in her adopted country. Standing as the largest exhibit yet on La Reina, Forever Celia! shows how one of the most well known Cuban exiles was and is an essential part of keeping Cuban music alive through never before seen photos, videos, awards, and, of course, her dresses.įorever Celia! will immerse visitors in the Queen of Salsa’s life, music and legacy. Starting in a working class neighborhood, she broke down barriers for women of color in a male-dominated industry by becoming a Salsa legend. Going by decade, Forever Celia! takes an in depth look at how Celia’s one of a kind voice and phenomenal stage presence made her an icon across the globe. Forever Celia! is an exhibit that explores the incredible life of La Reina de Salsa, Celia Cruz (1925-2003).