To those in the latino community, or lovers of latino music, this is a tremendous loss. She was a vivacious, exciting performer, even into her late 70's. After all these years, we have loads of memories of her music and performances... we've truly lost a great, great artist in Celia Cruz. Read on...


Cuban Salsa Queen Celia Cruz Dies at 78
Wed Jul 16,10:53 PM ET Add Entertainment - AP to My Yahoo!


By CHAKA FERGUSON, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - Celia Cruz, who went from singing in Havana nightclubs to become the "Queen of Salsa," died Wednesday, her publicist said.



Cruz, who was 78, died of a brain tumor. She had surgery for the ailment in December but her health faltered. She died at her home in Fort Lee, N.J., according to her publicist, Blanca Lasalle.


Her husband, trumpeter Pedro Knight, was at her side; the pair had celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on Monday, Lasalle said.


Ruben Blades, a frequent collaborator and friend, called Cruz a classy icon whose dynamic performances became her trademark.


"Celia Cruz could take any song and make it unforgettable. She transcended the material," Blades told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday night. "With Celia, even the most simple of songs became injected with her personality and her vigor."


"I don't think you could hear anything she ever did and be indifferent," he said.


Cruz studied to be a teacher in her native Havana, but was lured into show business when a relative entered her in a radio talent contest, which she won. She later studied music at the Havana Conservatory and performed at the world-famous Tropicana nightclub.


In the 1950s, Cruz became famous with the legendary Afro-Cuban group La Sonora Matancera. She left Cuba after its 1959 revolution for the United States in 1960, and never returned.


With her powerful voice and flamboyant stage shows, Cruz helped bring salsa music to a broad audience.


"She became a symbol of quality and strength, and she became a symbol of Afro-Cuban music," Blades said. "You couldn't be a fan of Celia and not be a fan of Afro-Cuban music, because she was Afro-Cuban music."


Cruz dazzled not only with her voice but also her personality. Always flashing a wide smile, the entertainer gave a highly energetic stage show, punctuated often by her trademark shout, "Azucar!" in the middle of a song. The word, which means sugar in Spanish, became her catch phrase after a waiter apparently asked her, to her surprise, if she wanted sugar in her coffee.


Her alliance with fellow salsa star and "Mambo King" Tito Puente resulted in some of the biggest successes in her career. The two recorded albums and regularly performed together, and they were considered legends of the genre.


She was also a member of the Fania All-Stars, the Afro-Cuban music collective that recorded for the Fania record label in the 1970s, along with Blades and Willie Colon. She dazzled listeners with fiery songs such as "Quimbara."


Blades noted that although she was typically the only woman excelling in the salsa field, she was never intimidated.


"She was a proud woman in a male-dominated business where she excelled because she had class herself," he said.


She recorded more than 70 albums and had more than a dozen Grammy nominations. She won best salsa album for "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" at last year's Latin Grammy Awards, and won the same award at this year's Grammy Awards. Among her other best-known recordings are "Yerberito Moderno" and "Que le Den Candela."


Called the "Queen of Salsa" and the "diva of Latin song," Cruz remained energetic late into her career, popular with young audiences as well as old. At last year's Latin Grammys, she showed up wearing a frothy blue-and-white headpiece and a tight red dress and gave a hip-shaking performance.

In 1987, she was honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and several years later, the city of Miami gave Calle Ocho, the main street of its Cuban community, the honorary name of Celia Cruz Way.

Cruz also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Institution and in 1994, President Clinton honored her with an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Recording Academy and Latin Recording Academy issued a statement Wednesday that read in part: "One of Latin music's most respected and most revered vocalists, Celia Cruz was an icon of salsa, tropical and Latin jazz music. ... Thank you, Celia, for teaching all of us that life should be lived with much `Azucar!'"

Pop and salsa singer Marc Anthony, a friend who recently paid tribute to Cruz at a gala concert, said in a statement: "We are witnessing the end of an era. She is simply irreplaceable and it's just an honor to know that she was a part of my life."

Blades said Cruz's music and the legacy she left behind would live on.

"The real death begins when you forget," he said. "No one is going to forget Celia."

___

Editor's note: AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this article.


(one more photo edit)
[This message was edited Fri Jul 18 14:47:46 PDT 2003 by June7]

There's a thread about Celia Cruz already... my bad.

Te Extrano Mucho Mucho
Celia, you were my hero... very fun, upbeat and always the smiling soul...

The Latin Pattie Labelle...
Muahhh...Condolences to the Family Of Senorita Cruz...


Many Thoughts, Prayers and Love from NewPowerDetroit Latin duo

Tor'Juan (Represent'n Dominican Republica y Cuba) and
Luna (Represent'n Mexico)
We will miss you!

I saw this GREAT talent 4 years ago in New York. She had the energy of 20 women! A class act. Really loved her fans.
Two of my favorite latin singers are gone Celia Cruz & La Lupe> May they both rest in peace:-( Thank GOD for their recordings!!

Disorder said:

Don't forget Tito Puente who died last year... he used to work with Celia a lot...

For those interested...


Plans Set for Salsa Queen's Funeral
By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - A horse-drawn carriage procession through Manhattan will precede a St. Patrick's Cathedral funeral Mass for Celia Cruz, who first will be remembered at weekend services in Miami.


On Friday, the body of the salsa diva was to be taken from a Manhattan funeral home and flown to Miami, to allow that city's large Cuban population to honor its beloved native songstress.

Cruz's body will be returned to New York on Sunday. On Tuesday, the horse-drawn carriage will carry her coffin from the Upper East Side mortuary to the cathedral Mass, which will be open to the public.

About 200 people stood under a light rain outside the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home on Friday afternoon.

Herbert Morales, 39, said he walked to the funeral parlor from the Bronx, where he lives — nearly five miles.

"I felt like, by walking here, I was showing my respect to her because she showed no limits to the people," he said. "If I can touch her casket, I will have fulfilled my mission."

He said the rain was a sign of "welcoming her into heaven with tears."

Cruz died of a brain tumor on Wednesday in her Fort Lee, N.J., home.

The 77-year-old "Queen of Salsa" recorded more than 70 albums. She won best salsa album for "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" at last year's Latin Grammy Awards, and won the same award at this year's Grammys (news - web sites). Her other best-known recordings include "Yerberito Moderno" and "Que le Den Candela."

A bouquet of flowers on the sidewalk outside Campbell's funeral home Friday had an inscription, written in Spanish, that said: "Celia Cruz, you'll be in our hearts always."

Many of the onlookers peered into the empty hearse and touched the simple wooden box in which the singer's body was to be shipped. A sticker on the box read: "The remains of Celia Cruz."

"I'm here because I've known her music for a long time," said Juan Carlos, 36, a native of Colombia who lives in the Bronx.

"I love all her music. It's wonderful. It really touches your heart," added Carlos, who said he was a singer who often performed her music. He said he planned to attend the Cruz viewing Monday, and the funeral on Tuesday.

Cruz, also known as the "diva of Latin song," studied music at the Havana Conservatory and performed at the world-famous Tropicana nightclub.

On Friday, her body was to be aboard a 5 p.m. flight to Miami, where Calle Ocho, the main street of the Cuban community, was given the honorary name of Celia Cruz Way.

On Saturday, a public viewing is planned from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Miami's Freedom Tower. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday at Miami's Gesu Roman Catholic Church.

For the flamboyant singer's many New York friends and fans, a public viewing was scheduled Monday at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

On Tuesday the singer's coffin will be placed on a horse-drawn buggy for a 30-block procession to St. Patrick's Cathedral for a 2 p.m. funeral Mass, the Archdiocese of New York said.

Burial was to be private, at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Just got in from viewing Celia Cruz's body and boy was everything sadly beautiful...never had the opportunity to see her perform live and never thought I'd see her live in person... dead!

=(

She was beautiful and lying there as if she was asleep...
I never knew she was ill and that just goes to show how great she really is..so optimistic and energetic, full of life and spirit.

She never let anything bring her down, always high class and colorful, always...loving and not concerned about herself...more so caring about the people and the love of cuba! salsa! and life!

REST IN PEACE CELIA.


Miami is muy caliente and I'll be headed back to Michigan tommorow!

The late/GREAT Tito Puente worked with both Celia Cruz & La Lupe. They made some amazing music together. I could just amagine all 3 jamming in heaven! R.I.P.!!!