April 10, 2024 • 27 mins
Join us as we delve into the captivating legacy of a brand new icon! In this episode, we embark on a journey into the life of Celia Cruz. Starting from her humble beginnings in Cuba, we offer a glimpse of the island through Celia's unique perspective. And witness how pivotal moments of change in her homeland transformed Celia's life forever. This was merely the beginning of a remarkable journey for the singer who would introduce the world to the vibrant rhythms of Salsa!
Lilliana Vazquez and Joseph Carrillo are the hosts of Becoming An Icon with production support by Nick Milanes, Rodrigo Crespo, Santiago Sierra and Ameyalli Negrete of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network.
If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show.
Follow Lilliana Vazquez on Instagram and Twitter @lillianavazquez
Follow Joseph Carrillo on Instagram @josephcarrillo
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Joseph pop quiz. Oh no, it's a fun one, I promise,
I doubt it. Okay, but hit Name something that Cubans
everywhere can agree on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
What that a Cuban sand which was invented in Miami?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hmm, No, actually, the Cuban sandwich was invented in Tampa,
I think Jesus. Okay, you know what. Let me try
this again, all right. Name someone that Cubans everywhere can
agree on, like they all across the board unanimously vote yes.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh, okay, you mean La Reina de la Salsan.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yes, I mean Cuba, you mean Okay, but give the
people what they want the name, please.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Okay, okay? The one the only sell Yau, a name that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Needs zero introduction. Over a career of nearly six decades,
thirty seven albums and over ten million records sold, Celia
Cruz made waves across the whole world with her unmistakable voice.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
There's literally no one else who sounds like her.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Doesn't matter if you're hearing her at a nochebuena or
at akaribnokrioio restaurant. It can be a super decup from
the sixties and you still got to go.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
That's sell yah and crazy. But that's true here in
the States as much as it is in Latin America
and even across the Atlantic. Celia got her start recording
and performing nightclubs in Cuba, Venezuela, and Mexico until political
exile brought her to New York City.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
She made New York her musical home almost as much
as Savannah, and from there she truly went global with
iconic performances in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I mean, the world was her own personal Havana nightclub,
and she transformed Latin music in the process. But as
well as you know her voice, how well do you
know her story?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
We're going to have that baby.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm your host, Liliana Oscuez and I'm Joseph Carrio and
this is Becoming an Icon a weekly podcast where we
give you the rundown on how today's most famous LATINX
stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with buenas bibras, buenas riesases and a lot of opinions
as we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to
find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
M brakibaraku makum bamba lem baraki barakumkim bam bam baraku
makum bamba.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Wow. Wow, that is a ton twister.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I also can't believe you got through so many repetis
of that. I can barely get through one line of
that song.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Wait, you know what this word actually means? Right?
Speaker 5 (03:05):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
You know what's so funny is I remember thinking, what
does that word mean in Spanish? I've never heard that
word in Spanish. And it's actually because it's not a
Spanish word. Did you know that it's actually derivative of
African origin, and it means to like chill and like
enjoy and like vibe out. That's what it means. I
feel like it's time for a little game. Joseph can
(03:29):
do a little Two truths and a Lie, Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
My gosh, about about who? No, not about you.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Things are not always about you. Okay, let's talk about Celia.
So two truths and a Lie. A Celia Cruz grew
up in a house of sixteen children. B Celia Cruz's
biggest concert was in the Canary Islands or See. Celia
Cruz was banned from visiting the United States.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh, I actually think I know which is the lie?
Which is the lie? Which is the lie?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Maybe that b Selector's biggest concert was in the Canary Islands.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Actually the answer is a she grew up in a
house of fourteen children. I'm not sixteen.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I got well, you know, knowing the times. I don't
think that that was super fetched, like, because I have
like nine aunts and uncles.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Same my mom's one of nine.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
My girl chat So if you what is that twenty
six bitch, I would have been like mm hm, yes,
that one.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But way she was banned from the US yep. But
we'll get back to that later in the episode. For now,
just know that Celia Cruz came of age during a
politically and socially complex time in Cuba, and the same
is true of her most groundbreaking years in the USA.
It's all to say, there's more to her life, into
(04:46):
her music than meets the eye.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Okay, I have so many questions, but we've got a
story to tell.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yes right, you are, Joseph. And that story begins in
a little neighborhood in Havana called Santos Suats, where Simon Cruz,
a Railroad Stoker and his wife Catalina Alfonso Ramos welcome
their daughter into the world, Ursula Ilaria Celia Bella Garida
Cruz Alfonso.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Wow, that was a mouthful. She is our future.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Reyna born in October twenty first, nineteen twenty five, m
a Libra's son, a Sagittarius moon. As a Libra son,
she strives for balance, harmony, and fairness. That does sound
like her, and as a Sagittarius Moon, she loves to
explore the unknown and connect with people from.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
All walks of life. Sure sounds like our girl, Celia.
Uh huh.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And whether it's thanks to the planets or being the
eldest of her four siblings and ten cousins, Celia connected
with those around her from an incredibly early age.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
According to her mother, she started singing at nine or
ten months, often in the middle of the night. That's
kind of like me.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And according to Celia, her mother with joke is the muchachita, this.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Little girl is gonna work nights. That is totally definitely me.
Me and Celia, we are two peas.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
In a podcast.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I feel like if I had birth do you, I
would say that about you too. You are like Oh Muchachito, Hello.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Singing was literally Celia's life. When the other children were born,
she would sing them lullabies to get them to sleep.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
She also sang in a local neighborhood ensemble Boton de Oro,
and she sang in school during Friday's Actosilkos or civicat.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Celia's musical gifts were enormous, but so was her musical heritage.
During the nineteen thirties, Celia would enjoy the sounds of
Havana's incredibly diverse musical scene. Peeking into the windows of
those clubs and cabarets.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'm picturing in the early days of big, glitzy Cuban
bandstands and orchestras.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
It's giving like a dirty dancing Havana nights. But like,
you know, like child appropriate. By the way, that movie
is so underrated, Like it gets such a bad rap.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
But I'm telling you, if you were like home and
you're like, you know what, I just tant to pour
myself a glass of wine put on Dirty Dancing camandaites.
It's such a treat.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Every time I do it, I end up with like
two or three bottles of wine.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
So yeah, yeah, okay, well fine, that's a problem. But
here's the thing. When you're watching this movie, you're gonna
be like, Okay, Lelena, what are you talking about, So like,
let's tone it down a little bit, right, So it's
that movie, but way less sweaty, and way before the
salsa that Celia herself would help make a mainstay of
Latin night life worldwide.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
The world of.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Sela's upbringing was a world of charanga, mambo rumba, rhythm
centric Afro Cuban musical styles with big, eclectic percussion sections
and vocals.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
The foundation of what would eventually become those big bands
with the horn sections, which itself came before salsa.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And when she wasn't soaking up the sounds of Cuban
son montuno, she was learning traditional songs from her neighbor,
who was a santina.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Ooh aka, someone who practices a santeria, a uniquely Afro
Cuban religious tradition that had been carried on since the
days of slavery.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Mm hmm. And Celia's father was a strict Catholic and
did not approve of and.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
It wouldn't be the last time that Celia went against
her father's wishes, but welcome back to that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay. So little Celia's peeking through the windows, singing for
the audio shaws and for her cousins and dreaming big dreams.
When does she get to the club.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You are always trying to get us to the club, Joseph, Like,
let's at least wait for eight thirty.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Your girl wants to work nights. Boom. Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So Celia has this incredible musical upbringing, surrounded by Cuban
music visionaries. Singing is her life. One day, while she's
singing the younger kids to sleep like hush, she notices
her neighbors standing outside the door, listening like in a
sweet way, right, yes, yes, not creepy at all.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
It turns out that one of Celia's cousins had been
bringing neighbors to listen to Celia's voice without her even
realizing it was happening. Observing the neighbor's reactions, that same
cousin went up to Celia and said.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
The girl, put on your Sunday best. I'm taking you
to a singing contest.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Her cousin took her to the local radio station, Radio
Garcia Vira. It is always the cauz who was doing
the most.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
You know what means look at that. I know you.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I know it's that cause they're always doing the most. Now,
this was the first time Celia had ever used a
what microphone. She let it rip She's saying hango and
she won a recording contract a cake yay, okay, okay okay,
(09:46):
hold on. But that was just the beginning. The station
asked her to sing regularly on Saturdays, and she would
go on to perform and singing contests at every radio
station in Cuba.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
And this was way before social media, even for TV.
The radio was the hot new thing exactly. Radio was
the path to a musical.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Career, and Celia was flying down that path.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
But she did have one tiny obstacle.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Dear old Dad, it's like Papa, don't preach exactly now.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
While Celia's mother was supportive of her dream of singing,
her father was a bit more skeptical.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Classic Latino parent mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And despite how vibrant and ubiquitous the musical scene was
in Havanah, singing wasn't exactly seen as a respectable career.
Celia's father shared this view and wanted Celia to pursue
a teaching career. Why are our parents always crushing our
artistic dreams up? What is wrong with our parents?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Okay, well, teachers are superheroes and everything shout out to
miss guys in the Pismol Beach disaster and clueless. But
can you imagine a world where Celia Gruth became a teacher?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
No, I want no part of that, like to lead it,
erase it nothing?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay? And guess what?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Neither did Celia, although at first she did follow her
father's wishes by attending college at Las Squela normal for
teachers in Havana.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Excuse me? What is the normal school for normal jobs?
Like they really named it that.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It's the school you go to to finish your basic
be career.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I do not want to go there. I flunked at
a normal school. I was kicked out of normal school.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It's basic the academy and she was having none of it.
But Celia would not stay for long. For one she
had a string of radio contest victories under her belt,
and then one day a professor shared some crucial Sabiduria,
telling her.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Celia is scuca mabien. What a teacher makes in a month,
an entertainer can make in one day.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Get that money, huh me. And that's when Celia changed majors.
In nineteen forty seven, Celia entered havanas a National Conservatory
of Music to study music theory, voice, and piano. Get it, bitch,
that's what we want for you.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
That's how you prove to your parents that you could
do it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I just really am so tired. This is not the
first time we have talked about the parentals trying to
be all conservative, making all of their nimnals accountants and
lawyers and doctors like we have a creative spirit, Like
our entire culture has so much creative we are born
dancing and singing from the womb. Like parents, let your
(12:34):
children be artistic.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Right, Just wait till Santi wants to be a painter.
Rich I really bought him.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
You have your letter?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Oh yeah, I mean you know, you really are that
like creative like curl you you're all. But I also
have his submissions to all of the colleges.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Now listen, I'm all about breaking generational curses, and to me,
one of the biggest curses that keeps us outside of
creative industries, whether it's film or television or any creative field.
Whatever you feel is creative. I really think it's because
of our parents. I think they fought so hard to
give us this life. They want us to make sure
(13:12):
that we have quote unquote stability. But what they don't
realize is that if you go for stability, you strip passion.
We don't want our children stripped of their passion. Parents
always say that they know what's best for us, right,
and I.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Think what they think is best can often be dictated
by fear.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Totally, and you can see it every step of the way.
With Celia's father, as a strict Catholic, he was afraid
of Celia getting mixed up with their son deda neighbor.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
We don't mess with that, and being the head of
the working class household, he was probably afraid Celia would
get taken advantage of in the club scene.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Ultimately, Celia followed her dreams, and neither her nor her
father could have predicted or they would.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Lead, nor could either of them predict what was to
come for the island nation they called home.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
We'll get into it after the break. It's nineteen forty eight,
Celia is only twenty three, and her decision to go
her own way is paying off.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Our girl is in demand. She's playing with Cuba's hottest bands.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
At Havana's hottest nightclubs.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Oh yes, honey, Sansuki, Bamboo Topika.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Have you ever heard of any of these clubs, Joseph.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Not one, Mama, but there's one I do know, El.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Tropican, of course. Celia is becoming a mainstay of Havana
nightlife and continuing to enthrall the airwaves with her powerful voice.
And for the first time, she's putting her voice on
wax recording music as a singer for Las Mulattas de Fuego.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
These were songs that would later end up on Lorena's
very first album.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
But her first real break came in nineteen fifty when
Celia was approached with the offic of a lifetime to
join the most popular musical group in all of Cuba,
La so Nora Matanza.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
La Sonora's previous singer, Mirta Siova, had achieved the pinnacle
of fame. She had become the top selling female artist
in various Latin American countries and was known as La
Reina de la Waracha.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But Mirta's heart was in her native Puerto Rico, so
she decided to leave on a high note and return
home to care for her mother.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Hmmm, So La Sonorra Matanza needed a new leading lady,
and Celia was a right woman for the job.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Celia was recommended by a Havana nightclub choreographer she had
previously worked with. The new lineup debuted in August of
nineteen fifty.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And they hopped off.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Over the next seven years, Celia and La Sonra Mantanza
played with all of the luminaries of the Cuban music
scene and toured Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Celia also not her first gold record for the Song
of Burundanga, which brought her to New York City to
accept her honors. These were the new heights for Celia.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
This is where she started to get her nicknames La
Waraca de Leste and La Rena de Ruma.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
She was gaining notoriety across the Americas, but back home
in Cuba, things were about to change. In nineteen fifty two,
just two years after Celia had joined La Sonorra Matansea,
Cuba's government was seized in a military coup led by
Fujencio Battista. Batista had been a key player in Cuban
politics already for over a decade by then, but this
(16:36):
coup was his biggest power grab yet. The historian Arthur
Schlesinger described Batista's reign as follows.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
The corruption of the government, the brutality of the police,
the government's indifference to the needs of the people for education,
medical care, housing, for social justice, and economic justice.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Is an open invitation to revolution.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
In nineteen fifty nine, revolution arrived.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
This is a big topic. Right.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Much has been written and still continues to be written
and said about the revolution, what came before it and
what followed, and.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
We couldn't possibly get into all of it here. You
want a way drier podcast for that.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yeah, we are not the people for that. However, we
can give you the cliff notes, all right. And here's
the thing. By the late nineteen fifties, the glamorous, carefree
Cuba that American tourists saw in the nightclubs of Havana
was not the Cuba that the vast majority of Cubans lived.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
In, and Celia understood that. People don't talk about it
so much now. But like most Cubans, Ceania was not
a fan of Batista.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Over the last years of ABT these says regime, Celia
had been caring for her mother, who was sick with cancer.
An opportunity arrived for her and the band to tour Mexico,
and Celia leapt at the opportunity to earn a bigger
check and help pay for her mother's care.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
When these regime was overthrown, Celia and La Sonora were
on that tour in Mexico, and from here the story
gets a little murkuy okay.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I'm gonna do my best, y'all. So on the one hand,
in nineteen sixty, Celia and La Sonorra Matanza would record
a song celebrating the revolution titled guahiro Yayegotudiya Peasant, Now
your day has come. Side note. This is also where
that tidbit about Celia being banned from the US comes
into play. In the years leading up to the revolution,
(18:28):
the CIA suspected the singer of communist sympathies.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
What now, that is some kool aid red scare jews,
I know, wait for it.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
As we had said, Celia was no fan of Batista,
and like many artists and intellectuals who would oppose him,
she had been involved in resistance movements and leftist groups
as early as her twenties, but that didn't give Celia
or her contemporaries any guarantees with the new regime.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
The same year that Celia and las So Nora Mantanza
recorded Juahiro Yayagodia, they unknowingly left Cuba forever. Fidel Castro
banned Celia and her bandmates from ever returning to the end.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
There's an old story about Celia's last visit to Cuba
in the wake of Costro's rise to power. It's said
that Celia was invited to a prominent magazine editor's home
to sing alongside a pianist.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
In the middle of Celia's performance, the story goes, something
catches the crowd's attention. They run to the front door
of the house, but Celia and her accompanists continue playing.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Then someone from the crowd comes to give word to Celia.
Fidel is outside and would like to see you.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh my God.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
According to the story, during the Gorilla campaign, Gastro had
enjoyed cleaning his gun to Burundanga. Celia's first gold record,
the song that truly put her on the map, and
so Castro wanted her to make his paints.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
However, in the story, Celia doesn't budge from the piano side, saying,
if he wants to see me, he can come see me.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Hold those boundaries, girl, hold those boundaries now. Some version
of the stories even have her saying see esse ombre gerreverme,
meaning if that man wants to see me, he can
come see me.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
An extra touch of sas.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
It's also said that afterwards, the new regime orders Celia
to play a celebration for the revolution alongside other musicians,
and ever the strong decision maker, Celia refuses to be
ordered around.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
It sure sounds like our girl she dipped out of
the normal school against her daddy's orders after all.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Right, But like many stories from these early days of
the revolution, it's hard to pin down the exact details
of what happened. Things were changing fast, and change is messy.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I am a mess in address right now.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Memories and stories fill the gaps made by documents that
have gone missing or were even destroyed. That's why revisiting
this time can feel like walking through a fog.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
What we know for sure is that Castri regime would
come to brand Celia a traitor to the revolution. One
of the many disparaging names for anyone deemed a political enemy,
and when the new government seized all radio stations on
the island, Celia's unmistakable voice vanished from the airwaves of Cuba.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Her music would remain forbidden for decades.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
As we've said, singing was Celia's life and at this point,
her livelihood. Whatever the exact details of Celia's departure, it's
easy to see why Celia, like many of the artists
who left the island after the revolution, wouldn't feel safe
in a country where her art would be subject to
censorship and even outright persecution.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So Sania boarded a flight back to Mexico City, where
she would perform at La terrasa nightclub.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Before leaving, she assured her mother that she'd return for Christmas.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Years later, she would reflect on saying goodbye to her mother, saying,
I'm glad that I didn't know then that I would
never see my mother again. If I'd known, I wouldn't
have been able to leave her. I always think that
(22:23):
the departure, whether it's leaving country leaving home for latinos,
is always really complex and kind of messy. Like I'm
not saying that I was exiled from Texas to go
to New York, but just the thought of leaving, Like
I kind of understand how she felt, because when you
leave with so little, you just don't know if you
can go back.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I actually know a lot of people from like other
countries like Venezuela, Columbia, Chile who can't go back for
different reasons or whatever. But they're stuck here and you know,
to chase a better opportunity, but at what cost. And
it's like it is such a hardspot to be in,
like I can't even imagine.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Right, because you exist alone without home, without country, and
then what are you if you're not tethered to those things.
I think it's a very lonely existence, and I think
you can feel very isolating for so many people. Yeah,
so I completely empathize being and feeling that way. I
even feel that way about my mom, you know, like
as much opportunity as has been given to her and
to my brother and I and extended by being here,
(23:23):
there's a part of her that's still very I mean
like aya Nacion Mexico, Like, yeah, Texas is not her home.
The US is not her home, and she will never
be able to have that piece of home again. Because
for so long she didn't go back. It's sad, it is,
but you know what I will tell you. On the
same note it being sad, it also just remains so
true to hope. You are just so hopeful that, yeah,
(23:46):
the sadness kind of like it doesn't go away, but
you remain hopeful and just keep your dreams kind of
going like you actually now have no other choice. Well,
and that I think lends itself to why immigrants are
so fucking resilient. Yeah, because if you can be that
successful with all of that baggage and like I said,
no country and no home, like damn.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Not me crying.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
And it just so happens that Celia left Cuba at
what seemed to be the height of her fame. When
she arrived back in Mexico, she was greeted by greater
and greater opportunities, and not.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Just in nightclubs.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Our girl was on the airwaves and on the screen
TVs and cinemas se yeah, say yeah, say yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
At the same time, Celia never stopped thinking about her
ailing mother. She tried to return to Cuba and visit her,
but the Cuban government denied her permission.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Celia I lost so noabt We're blowing up outside of
Latin America. They played the Hollywood Palladium, they toured Europe,
and our Girl even was big in Japan.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
In Kawa E, she linked up with the Dee, the
fame Puerto Rican bandleader and percussionists, and began to garner
interest as a solo act.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
But on August seventh, nineteen sixty two, tragedy finally struck.
Celia received the news that her mother, Catalina Fonso passed away.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
You might say this part of Celia Cruz's story is
one of the core things that made her such an
icon for the Cuban exile community. Like so many who
left the island, she didn't realize she'd be leaving for good,
and she left family behind that she didn't realize she
would never see again.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
And beyond that, exile, refugee, immigrant, whatever brings us to
wherever we end up. This is a nightmare for all Latinos,
right to be estranged from your loved ones and to
never be able to say goodbye.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
One hundred percent. It's little wonder why family is so
central and core to our culture and why Celia is
an icon to so many that same year, Celia started
a new family. On July fourteenth, Celia Cruz married her
longtime bandmate from La Sonora, trumpet player Pedro Knight.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
And in nineteen sixty five, Celia went solo with Pedro
working as her representative musical arranger and director.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Knight is right glue.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Those two were inseparable.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And they were a straight up power comple move over
j Low.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
With her husband at her side and her homeland in
the back of her mind, Celia Cruz set her sights forward.
She became an American citizen and situated herself in her
new home in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Little did she know that across the Hudson River she
would make history in.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
New York concrete jungles where dreams are made.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's nothing you can't do now. On the next Becoming
an Icon, Celia Cruz joins Fania Records and introduces the
world to salsa. Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo
(27:06):
and Iheart's Michael Duda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an
Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or
Joseph pop quiz. Oh no, it's a fun one, I promise,
I doubt it. Okay, but hit Name something that Cubans
everywhere can agree on.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
What that a Cuban sand which was invented in Miami?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hmm, No, actually, the Cuban sandwich was invented in Tampa,
I think Jesus. Okay, you know what. Let me try
this again, all right. Name someone that Cubans everywhere can
agree on, like they all across the board unanimously vote yes.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh, okay, you mean La Reina de la Salsan.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yes, I mean Cuba, you mean Okay, but give the
people what they want the name, please.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Okay, okay? The one the only sell Yau, a name that.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Needs zero introduction. Over a career of nearly six decades,
thirty seven albums and over ten million records sold, Celia
Cruz made waves across the whole world with her unmistakable voice.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
There's literally no one else who sounds like her.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Doesn't matter if you're hearing her at a nochebuena or
at akaribnokrioio restaurant. It can be a super decup from
the sixties and you still got to go.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
That's sell yah and crazy. But that's true here in
the States as much as it is in Latin America
and even across the Atlantic. Celia got her start recording
and performing nightclubs in Cuba, Venezuela, and Mexico until political
exile brought her to New York City.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
She made New York her musical home almost as much
as Savannah, and from there she truly went global with
iconic performances in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
I mean, the world was her own personal Havana nightclub,
and she transformed Latin music in the process. But as
well as you know her voice, how well do you
know her story?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
We're going to have that baby.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm your host, Liliana Oscuez and I'm Joseph Carrio and
this is Becoming an Icon a weekly podcast where we
give you the rundown on how today's most famous LATINX
stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with buenas bibras, buenas riesases and a lot of opinions
as we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to
find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
M brakibaraku makum bamba lem baraki barakumkim bam bam baraku
makum bamba.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Wow. Wow, that is a ton twister.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I also can't believe you got through so many repetis
of that. I can barely get through one line of
that song.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Wait, you know what this word actually means? Right?
Speaker 5 (03:05):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:06):
You know what's so funny is I remember thinking, what
does that word mean in Spanish? I've never heard that
word in Spanish. And it's actually because it's not a
Spanish word. Did you know that it's actually derivative of
African origin, and it means to like chill and like
enjoy and like vibe out. That's what it means. I
feel like it's time for a little game. Joseph can
(03:29):
do a little Two truths and a Lie, Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
My gosh, about about who? No, not about you.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Things are not always about you. Okay, let's talk about Celia.
So two truths and a Lie. A Celia Cruz grew
up in a house of sixteen children. B Celia Cruz's
biggest concert was in the Canary Islands or See. Celia
Cruz was banned from visiting the United States.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh, I actually think I know which is the lie?
Which is the lie? Which is the lie?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Maybe that b Selector's biggest concert was in the Canary Islands.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Actually the answer is a she grew up in a
house of fourteen children. I'm not sixteen.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I got well, you know, knowing the times. I don't
think that that was super fetched, like, because I have
like nine aunts and uncles.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Same my mom's one of nine.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
My girl chat So if you what is that twenty
six bitch, I would have been like mm hm, yes,
that one.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
But way she was banned from the US yep. But
we'll get back to that later in the episode. For now,
just know that Celia Cruz came of age during a
politically and socially complex time in Cuba, and the same
is true of her most groundbreaking years in the USA.
It's all to say, there's more to her life, into
(04:46):
her music than meets the eye.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Okay, I have so many questions, but we've got a
story to tell.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yes right, you are, Joseph. And that story begins in
a little neighborhood in Havana called Santos Suats, where Simon Cruz,
a Railroad Stoker and his wife Catalina Alfonso Ramos welcome
their daughter into the world, Ursula Ilaria Celia Bella Garida
Cruz Alfonso.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Wow, that was a mouthful. She is our future.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Reyna born in October twenty first, nineteen twenty five, m
a Libra's son, a Sagittarius moon. As a Libra son,
she strives for balance, harmony, and fairness. That does sound
like her, and as a Sagittarius Moon, she loves to
explore the unknown and connect with people from.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
All walks of life. Sure sounds like our girl, Celia.
Uh huh.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
And whether it's thanks to the planets or being the
eldest of her four siblings and ten cousins, Celia connected
with those around her from an incredibly early age.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
According to her mother, she started singing at nine or
ten months, often in the middle of the night. That's
kind of like me.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And according to Celia, her mother with joke is the muchachita, this.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Little girl is gonna work nights. That is totally definitely me.
Me and Celia, we are two peas.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
In a podcast.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I feel like if I had birth do you, I
would say that about you too. You are like Oh Muchachito, Hello.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Singing was literally Celia's life. When the other children were born,
she would sing them lullabies to get them to sleep.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
She also sang in a local neighborhood ensemble Boton de Oro,
and she sang in school during Friday's Actosilkos or civicat.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Celia's musical gifts were enormous, but so was her musical heritage.
During the nineteen thirties, Celia would enjoy the sounds of
Havana's incredibly diverse musical scene. Peeking into the windows of
those clubs and cabarets.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'm picturing in the early days of big, glitzy Cuban
bandstands and orchestras.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
It's giving like a dirty dancing Havana nights. But like,
you know, like child appropriate. By the way, that movie
is so underrated, Like it gets such a bad rap.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
But I'm telling you, if you were like home and
you're like, you know what, I just tant to pour
myself a glass of wine put on Dirty Dancing camandaites.
It's such a treat.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Every time I do it, I end up with like
two or three bottles of wine.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
So yeah, yeah, okay, well fine, that's a problem. But
here's the thing. When you're watching this movie, you're gonna
be like, Okay, Lelena, what are you talking about, So like,
let's tone it down a little bit, right, So it's
that movie, but way less sweaty, and way before the
salsa that Celia herself would help make a mainstay of
Latin night life worldwide.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
The world of.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Sela's upbringing was a world of charanga, mambo rumba, rhythm
centric Afro Cuban musical styles with big, eclectic percussion sections
and vocals.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
The foundation of what would eventually become those big bands
with the horn sections, which itself came before salsa.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And when she wasn't soaking up the sounds of Cuban
son montuno, she was learning traditional songs from her neighbor,
who was a santina.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Ooh aka, someone who practices a santeria, a uniquely Afro
Cuban religious tradition that had been carried on since the
days of slavery.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Mm hmm. And Celia's father was a strict Catholic and
did not approve of and.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
It wouldn't be the last time that Celia went against
her father's wishes, but welcome back to that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Okay. So little Celia's peeking through the windows, singing for
the audio shaws and for her cousins and dreaming big dreams.
When does she get to the club.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You are always trying to get us to the club, Joseph, Like,
let's at least wait for eight thirty.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Your girl wants to work nights. Boom. Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So Celia has this incredible musical upbringing, surrounded by Cuban
music visionaries. Singing is her life. One day, while she's
singing the younger kids to sleep like hush, she notices
her neighbors standing outside the door, listening like in a
sweet way, right, yes, yes, not creepy at all.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
It turns out that one of Celia's cousins had been
bringing neighbors to listen to Celia's voice without her even
realizing it was happening. Observing the neighbor's reactions, that same
cousin went up to Celia and said.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
The girl, put on your Sunday best. I'm taking you
to a singing contest.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Her cousin took her to the local radio station, Radio
Garcia Vira. It is always the cauz who was doing
the most.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
You know what means look at that. I know you.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
I know it's that cause they're always doing the most. Now,
this was the first time Celia had ever used a
what microphone. She let it rip She's saying hango and
she won a recording contract a cake yay, okay, okay okay,
(09:46):
hold on. But that was just the beginning. The station
asked her to sing regularly on Saturdays, and she would
go on to perform and singing contests at every radio
station in Cuba.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
And this was way before social media, even for TV.
The radio was the hot new thing exactly. Radio was
the path to a musical.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Career, and Celia was flying down that path.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
But she did have one tiny obstacle.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Dear old Dad, it's like Papa, don't preach exactly now.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
While Celia's mother was supportive of her dream of singing,
her father was a bit more skeptical.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Classic Latino parent mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And despite how vibrant and ubiquitous the musical scene was
in Havanah, singing wasn't exactly seen as a respectable career.
Celia's father shared this view and wanted Celia to pursue
a teaching career. Why are our parents always crushing our
artistic dreams up? What is wrong with our parents?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Like?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Okay, well, teachers are superheroes and everything shout out to
miss guys in the Pismol Beach disaster and clueless. But
can you imagine a world where Celia Gruth became a teacher?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
No, I want no part of that, like to lead it,
erase it nothing?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay? And guess what?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Neither did Celia, although at first she did follow her
father's wishes by attending college at Las Squela normal for
teachers in Havana.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Excuse me? What is the normal school for normal jobs?
Like they really named it that.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It's the school you go to to finish your basic
be career.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I do not want to go there. I flunked at
a normal school. I was kicked out of normal school.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
It's basic the academy and she was having none of it.
But Celia would not stay for long. For one she
had a string of radio contest victories under her belt,
and then one day a professor shared some crucial Sabiduria,
telling her.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Celia is scuca mabien. What a teacher makes in a month,
an entertainer can make in one day.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Get that money, huh me. And that's when Celia changed majors.
In nineteen forty seven, Celia entered havanas a National Conservatory
of Music to study music theory, voice, and piano. Get it, bitch,
that's what we want for you.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
That's how you prove to your parents that you could
do it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I just really am so tired. This is not the
first time we have talked about the parentals trying to
be all conservative, making all of their nimnals accountants and
lawyers and doctors like we have a creative spirit, Like
our entire culture has so much creative we are born
dancing and singing from the womb. Like parents, let your
(12:34):
children be artistic.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Right, Just wait till Santi wants to be a painter.
Rich I really bought him.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
You have your letter?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Oh yeah, I mean you know, you really are that
like creative like curl you you're all. But I also
have his submissions to all of the colleges.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Now listen, I'm all about breaking generational curses, and to me,
one of the biggest curses that keeps us outside of
creative industries, whether it's film or television or any creative field.
Whatever you feel is creative. I really think it's because
of our parents. I think they fought so hard to
give us this life. They want us to make sure
(13:12):
that we have quote unquote stability. But what they don't
realize is that if you go for stability, you strip passion.
We don't want our children stripped of their passion. Parents
always say that they know what's best for us, right,
and I.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Think what they think is best can often be dictated
by fear.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Totally, and you can see it every step of the way.
With Celia's father, as a strict Catholic, he was afraid
of Celia getting mixed up with their son deda neighbor.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
We don't mess with that, and being the head of
the working class household, he was probably afraid Celia would
get taken advantage of in the club scene.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Ultimately, Celia followed her dreams, and neither her nor her
father could have predicted or they would.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Lead, nor could either of them predict what was to
come for the island nation they called home.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
We'll get into it after the break. It's nineteen forty eight,
Celia is only twenty three, and her decision to go
her own way is paying off.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Our girl is in demand. She's playing with Cuba's hottest bands.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
At Havana's hottest nightclubs.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Oh yes, honey, Sansuki, Bamboo Topika.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Have you ever heard of any of these clubs, Joseph.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Not one, Mama, but there's one I do know, El.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Tropican, of course. Celia is becoming a mainstay of Havana
nightlife and continuing to enthrall the airwaves with her powerful voice.
And for the first time, she's putting her voice on
wax recording music as a singer for Las Mulattas de Fuego.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
These were songs that would later end up on Lorena's
very first album.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
But her first real break came in nineteen fifty when
Celia was approached with the offic of a lifetime to
join the most popular musical group in all of Cuba,
La so Nora Matanza.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
La Sonora's previous singer, Mirta Siova, had achieved the pinnacle
of fame. She had become the top selling female artist
in various Latin American countries and was known as La
Reina de la Waracha.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But Mirta's heart was in her native Puerto Rico, so
she decided to leave on a high note and return
home to care for her mother.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Hmmm, So La Sonorra Matanza needed a new leading lady,
and Celia was a right woman for the job.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Celia was recommended by a Havana nightclub choreographer she had
previously worked with. The new lineup debuted in August of
nineteen fifty.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And they hopped off.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Over the next seven years, Celia and La Sonra Mantanza
played with all of the luminaries of the Cuban music
scene and toured Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Celia also not her first gold record for the Song
of Burundanga, which brought her to New York City to
accept her honors. These were the new heights for Celia.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
This is where she started to get her nicknames La
Waraca de Leste and La Rena de Ruma.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
She was gaining notoriety across the Americas, but back home
in Cuba, things were about to change. In nineteen fifty two,
just two years after Celia had joined La Sonorra Matansea,
Cuba's government was seized in a military coup led by
Fujencio Battista. Batista had been a key player in Cuban
politics already for over a decade by then, but this
(16:36):
coup was his biggest power grab yet. The historian Arthur
Schlesinger described Batista's reign as follows.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
The corruption of the government, the brutality of the police,
the government's indifference to the needs of the people for education,
medical care, housing, for social justice, and economic justice.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Is an open invitation to revolution.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
In nineteen fifty nine, revolution arrived.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
This is a big topic. Right.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Much has been written and still continues to be written
and said about the revolution, what came before it and
what followed, and.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
We couldn't possibly get into all of it here. You
want a way drier podcast for that.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yeah, we are not the people for that. However, we
can give you the cliff notes, all right. And here's
the thing. By the late nineteen fifties, the glamorous, carefree
Cuba that American tourists saw in the nightclubs of Havana
was not the Cuba that the vast majority of Cubans lived.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
In, and Celia understood that. People don't talk about it
so much now. But like most Cubans, Ceania was not
a fan of Batista.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Over the last years of ABT these says regime, Celia
had been caring for her mother, who was sick with cancer.
An opportunity arrived for her and the band to tour Mexico,
and Celia leapt at the opportunity to earn a bigger
check and help pay for her mother's care.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
When these regime was overthrown, Celia and La Sonora were
on that tour in Mexico, and from here the story
gets a little murkuy okay.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I'm gonna do my best, y'all. So on the one hand,
in nineteen sixty, Celia and La Sonorra Matanza would record
a song celebrating the revolution titled guahiro Yayegotudiya Peasant, Now
your day has come. Side note. This is also where
that tidbit about Celia being banned from the US comes
into play. In the years leading up to the revolution,
(18:28):
the CIA suspected the singer of communist sympathies.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
What now, that is some kool aid red scare jews,
I know, wait for it.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
As we had said, Celia was no fan of Batista,
and like many artists and intellectuals who would oppose him,
she had been involved in resistance movements and leftist groups
as early as her twenties, but that didn't give Celia
or her contemporaries any guarantees with the new regime.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
The same year that Celia and las So Nora Mantanza
recorded Juahiro Yayagodia, they unknowingly left Cuba forever. Fidel Castro
banned Celia and her bandmates from ever returning to the end.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
There's an old story about Celia's last visit to Cuba
in the wake of Costro's rise to power. It's said
that Celia was invited to a prominent magazine editor's home
to sing alongside a pianist.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
In the middle of Celia's performance, the story goes, something
catches the crowd's attention. They run to the front door
of the house, but Celia and her accompanists continue playing.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Then someone from the crowd comes to give word to Celia.
Fidel is outside and would like to see you.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh my God.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
According to the story, during the Gorilla campaign, Gastro had
enjoyed cleaning his gun to Burundanga. Celia's first gold record,
the song that truly put her on the map, and
so Castro wanted her to make his paints.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
However, in the story, Celia doesn't budge from the piano side, saying,
if he wants to see me, he can come see me.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Hold those boundaries, girl, hold those boundaries now. Some version
of the stories even have her saying see esse ombre gerreverme,
meaning if that man wants to see me, he can
come see me.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
An extra touch of sas.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
It's also said that afterwards, the new regime orders Celia
to play a celebration for the revolution alongside other musicians,
and ever the strong decision maker, Celia refuses to be
ordered around.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
It sure sounds like our girl she dipped out of
the normal school against her daddy's orders after all.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Right, But like many stories from these early days of
the revolution, it's hard to pin down the exact details
of what happened. Things were changing fast, and change is messy.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I am a mess in address right now.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Memories and stories fill the gaps made by documents that
have gone missing or were even destroyed. That's why revisiting
this time can feel like walking through a fog.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
What we know for sure is that Castri regime would
come to brand Celia a traitor to the revolution. One
of the many disparaging names for anyone deemed a political enemy,
and when the new government seized all radio stations on
the island, Celia's unmistakable voice vanished from the airwaves of Cuba.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Her music would remain forbidden for decades.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
As we've said, singing was Celia's life and at this point,
her livelihood. Whatever the exact details of Celia's departure, it's
easy to see why Celia, like many of the artists
who left the island after the revolution, wouldn't feel safe
in a country where her art would be subject to
censorship and even outright persecution.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So Sania boarded a flight back to Mexico City, where
she would perform at La terrasa nightclub.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Before leaving, she assured her mother that she'd return for Christmas.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Years later, she would reflect on saying goodbye to her mother, saying,
I'm glad that I didn't know then that I would
never see my mother again. If I'd known, I wouldn't
have been able to leave her. I always think that
(22:23):
the departure, whether it's leaving country leaving home for latinos,
is always really complex and kind of messy. Like I'm
not saying that I was exiled from Texas to go
to New York, but just the thought of leaving, Like
I kind of understand how she felt, because when you
leave with so little, you just don't know if you
can go back.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I actually know a lot of people from like other
countries like Venezuela, Columbia, Chile who can't go back for
different reasons or whatever. But they're stuck here and you know,
to chase a better opportunity, but at what cost. And
it's like it is such a hardspot to be in,
like I can't even imagine.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Right, because you exist alone without home, without country, and
then what are you if you're not tethered to those things.
I think it's a very lonely existence, and I think
you can feel very isolating for so many people. Yeah,
so I completely empathize being and feeling that way. I
even feel that way about my mom, you know, like
as much opportunity as has been given to her and
to my brother and I and extended by being here,
(23:23):
there's a part of her that's still very I mean
like aya Nacion Mexico, Like, yeah, Texas is not her home.
The US is not her home, and she will never
be able to have that piece of home again. Because
for so long she didn't go back. It's sad, it is,
but you know what I will tell you. On the
same note it being sad, it also just remains so
true to hope. You are just so hopeful that, yeah,
(23:46):
the sadness kind of like it doesn't go away, but
you remain hopeful and just keep your dreams kind of
going like you actually now have no other choice. Well,
and that I think lends itself to why immigrants are
so fucking resilient. Yeah, because if you can be that
successful with all of that baggage and like I said,
no country and no home, like damn.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Not me crying.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
And it just so happens that Celia left Cuba at
what seemed to be the height of her fame. When
she arrived back in Mexico, she was greeted by greater
and greater opportunities, and not.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Just in nightclubs.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Our girl was on the airwaves and on the screen
TVs and cinemas se yeah, say yeah, say yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
At the same time, Celia never stopped thinking about her
ailing mother. She tried to return to Cuba and visit her,
but the Cuban government denied her permission.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Celia I lost so noabt We're blowing up outside of
Latin America. They played the Hollywood Palladium, they toured Europe,
and our Girl even was big in Japan.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
In Kawa E, she linked up with the Dee, the
fame Puerto Rican bandleader and percussionists, and began to garner
interest as a solo act.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
But on August seventh, nineteen sixty two, tragedy finally struck.
Celia received the news that her mother, Catalina Fonso passed away.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
You might say this part of Celia Cruz's story is
one of the core things that made her such an
icon for the Cuban exile community. Like so many who
left the island, she didn't realize she'd be leaving for good,
and she left family behind that she didn't realize she
would never see again.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
And beyond that, exile, refugee, immigrant, whatever brings us to
wherever we end up. This is a nightmare for all Latinos,
right to be estranged from your loved ones and to
never be able to say goodbye.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
One hundred percent. It's little wonder why family is so
central and core to our culture and why Celia is
an icon to so many that same year, Celia started
a new family. On July fourteenth, Celia Cruz married her
longtime bandmate from La Sonora, trumpet player Pedro Knight.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
And in nineteen sixty five, Celia went solo with Pedro
working as her representative musical arranger and director.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Knight is right glue.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Those two were inseparable.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And they were a straight up power comple move over
j Low.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
With her husband at her side and her homeland in
the back of her mind, Celia Cruz set her sights forward.
She became an American citizen and situated herself in her
new home in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Little did she know that across the Hudson River she
would make history in.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
New York concrete jungles where dreams are made.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's nothing you can't do now. On the next Becoming
an Icon, Celia Cruz joins Fania Records and introduces the
world to salsa. Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo
(27:06):
and Iheart's Michael Duda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an
Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.