World music: The queen of salsa
The Queen of Salsa CELIA CRUZ
Homenaje – Live from Cuba
It’s been more than 20 years since the ‘Queen of Salsa’, Celia Cruz (her full name: Ursula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso) passed away. She performed with the best and most famous Latin bands in the USA, like Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco, which earned her this title, together with all the good she did for salsa music. She was given countless music awards, city keys of major cities, several honorary doctorates and a star (no 6240) at the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ in Los Angeles for her records.
She was already “The Queen” when the word salsa didn’t even exist yet, as “The Queen of All Latin-American Rhythms”, as you can see on the Seeco record-sleeve in the photo. This dates from 1956 and features all her highlights from 1951, that were on 78 rpm records. A similar LP had been released the year before.
The Cuban orchestra Sonora Matancera, with Celia Cruz as its most important star singer, was run like a business and incredibly popular in Cuba, broadcast live on the radio every day. There came an end to the success the day that Fidel Castro marched into Havana. The orchestra was playing on the radio that day and he was welcomed by the people at first. Everything would be getting better, right? But the regime had other plans and enforced more severe restrictions. There was less night life and night clubs were closed, leaving little work for the orchestra. Rogelio Martínez, the director of the orchestra, took a courageous decision and told everyone while they were on the plane to Mexico for a tour, they had a one-way ticket. Celia Cruz and everyone else wouldn’t return! Fidel Castro called them traitors, and their music was forbidden on Cuba from then on. Records sales and the radio show stopped immediately and the new Cuban generation grew up without ever hearing Sonora Matancera or Celia Cruz. While she and the orchestra kept on promoting Cuban music all over the world, the archives of the radio stations were forbidden territory.
Luckily, there’s always people that find a way somehow, and so it happened that radio recordings were smuggled out of Cuba, which you’ll listen to in this show. It is a recording from 1951/1952 from the Cuban radio station C.M.Q., followed by recordings from Radio Progreso from 1953 till 1956. The live recordings, never released on vinyl, are an homage to the young Celia Cruz and the dynamic orchestra Sonora Matancera.
Playlist:
1 Más linda es la rumba, guaracha 3’51
2 En el tiempo de la Colonia, afro 2’59
3 Tu no sirves pa’ ná, guaracha 2’32
4 Camagueyando y habanero, conga (improvisación B. Granda) 1’28
5 Prende la vela, guaracha 3’27
Source: En Vivo C.M.Q. 1951 52 Vol. 5 (Bárbaro B 230 1995)
6 Oye mi vida, bolero mambo 2’26
7 La rumba es mejor, guaracha 2’39
8 Cacumbia, guaracha 2’53
9 Canto a Yemayá, afro 3’35
10 Cualquiera la baila, guaracha 2’48
Source: En Vivo Radio Progreso Año 1956 Vol. 3 (Barbaro – B-228 1995)
11 El negro Tomás, afro 3’22
12 Ahora es cuando, mambo 3’39
13 El pacifico, plena 3’00
14 Porque importa mi vida, son 3’14
Source: En Vivo Radio Progreso Año 1955 Vol. 2 (1995)
15 A guarachar conmigo, guaracha 2’59
16 La jerigonza, mambo 3’06
17 Serpentinas en colores, guaracha 2.23
18 La chambelona, conga 2.27
19 Un paso pa’ lante y un paso pa’ tras, guaracha 2.28
20 Rumba rumbona, guaracha 2.48
Source: En Vivo Radio Progreso años 1953/54 Vol. 1 (1995)
