I've gotten into Celia Cruz's music and am just enamored with her enormous talent. J. Lo's tribute performance at the AMA's is what got me familiar with it. Celia had such a powerful voice that could go from a high octave to a low octave quite easily. She had rhythm ("la negra tienne tumbao!") and an infectious smile! But there was a lot of pain behind the music. Although she sang about Cuba and represented her culture throughout the world, she actually was never able to return to her country before she died. She couldn't even attend her mother's funeral in 1962! Look at the translation of her adlibs to her song "Bemba Colora":
A few years ago I came out,
From my lovely little piece of land ,
And I still remember ,
Its streets and ravines ,
Their huts , I adored
Gripping palms .
Always, always they were roofed
With pieces of old yagua .
....
A bird in a cage
Fly fly and ceaselessly
And always looking for the sea
If you saw where escape
Poor thing, ay, suffering
Seeking their freedom , and ,
I like the bird I
Regain my freedom ,
Come, come , come, come
Come, come , come, come ,
Come, come , come, come
Before I understood her lyrics, I felt it. Her vibrato sprang from such a deep place that resonated with humanity over Latin beats. She sang with a lot of power but most of it was fueled by a life marked with nostalgia. She became a citizen of the world and brought her Afro-Cuban culture all over the globe. Everyone knows "Guantanamera". Everyone. Fate could not have chosen a more suitable candidate for such a destiny, no? Kudos to the Creator for an awesome entertainer.
What an inspiration to advance our cultures and empower our communities with positive music.
