The voice of Celia Cruz on her centenary, now on vinyl

MIAMI.- Celia Live: 100 years of sugar was released this Friday, May 24, on the occasion of the celebrations for the centenary of the Queen of Salsa, they announced Celia Cruz Estate y Loud And Live Studios.

The new commemorative vinyl LP compiles nine previously unreleased songs that were recorded at concerts that the artist offered during the 80s.

Searching for material in our archives that was new to the public in order to celebrate Celia’s hundredth birthday, we found these recordings that we didn’t even know existed that were made by the announcer Albertico Rodríguez, Omer Pardillo-Cid said in a statement, universal executor of the singer’s legacy and who was her manager. “Celia only released one live album during her entire career, which makes these recordings even more valuable and this album even more special for her fans,” he added.

The power of Celia Cruz’s music is inestimable. 20 years after her death, the iconic Cuban artist seems to be more alive than ever. In the two decades that have passed after her death, the fame and affection for this emblematic artist has grown and continues to grow daily. Celia Cruz has become the most idolized Hispanic singer in history. The singer, who received countless recognitions and awards during her lifetime including three Grammy Awards and four Latin Grammy Awards, was honored by the United States Postal Service with a stamp illustrated with her image as part of the Latin Music Legends Forever series, reads the notice. The power of Celia Cruz’s music is inestimable. 20 years after her death, the iconic Cuban artist seems to be more alive than ever. In the two decades that have passed after her death, the fame and affection for this emblematic artist has grown and continues to grow daily. Celia Cruz has become the most idolized Hispanic singer in history. The singer, who received countless recognitions and awards during her lifetime including three Grammy Awards and four Latin Grammy Awards, was honored by the United States Postal Service with a stamp illustrated with her image as part of the Latin Music Legends Forever series, reads the notice.

Recently, her image was immortalized by the toy manufacturer Mattel on a Barbie doll as part of the series Inspiring Womenand in August 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury will honor the artist as one of four selected women whose face will be depicted on a US 25-cent coin, as part of the program American Women Quarters.

The album, which features some of his most iconic songs in completely unreleased versions, is produced by Loud And Live Studios, curated by Grammy and Latin Grammy winners Nelson Albareda and Omer Pardillo-Cid, and announcer Albertico Rodriguez.

This limited commemorative edition will be numbered, and the packaging design will be one of its greatest attractions. Each album will come covered in a sequin-embroidered fabric inspired by one of the textiles that Celia used in her striking outfits. This edition will also be accompanied by a booklet containing one hundred photographs celebrating each year lived by the legendary artist. Additionally, each copy of the album will include printed and numbered sheets of special photos that will one day be collector’s items.

What made Celia happy was singing to her audience live on stage, that’s why we think that this, an album of her in concert enjoying the warmth of her people, is the best tribute we can pay to our queen, said Nelson. Albareda, CEO of Loud And Live and executive producer of the album. An artist like Celia is born every hundred years, and that is precisely what we are celebrating,” he added.

Likewise, the company announced that this album marks the beginning of the celebrations surrounding the artist’s centenary.

The Celia Cruz Foundation organizes the centenary celebration, which begins in October 2025 and runs until the end of 2026. In addition, events will be launched in preamble to the centenary during the summer of 2024, including musical performances, exhibitions, conferences and the expansion of the Celia Cruz music scholarship program, which could include an international singing competition honoring her memory.

Celia Cruz was born in Havana on October 21, 1925.

The musicgrapher Rosa Marquetti Torres, who has documented the life and work of the artist, notes in the album:

The recordings you will hear on this album were made in live performances by Celia Cruz and have remained unreleased for nearly three decades. The strength and joy that the Guarachera of Cuba, the Queen of Salsa, imprinted on each interpretation and each performance of hers, always characterized each of her appearances on stage. It is worth it, then, to enjoy this singular and inimitable energy that today forms part of her vital legend. Celia Cruz continues to be the most well-known and recognized female figure in Cuban music worldwide. Few singers manage to maintain an astonishing validity, even after their physical disappearance, in legions of followers, among the public and musicians in the world who cling to her classic legacy, or reinterpret it as she herself would have done – in the most current ways. to make and assimilate their guarachas, sones, afros, rumbas and boleros. Her voice and her image return each day intact and at the same time renewed, as if the passage of time ratified more and more her relevance and permanence. And something very important: Celia has continued to inspire millions of girls and young women around the world, definitively transcending racial, social, geographical, political and musical barriers.

The material can be heard on digital platforms.

Celia Live: 100 years of sugar

1.- Your Voice Intro

(Ramn Cabrera)

2.- Song of Havana

(A. Castillo)

3.- Ma’s Bliss

(Johnny Pacheco)

4.- Yerbero Moderno

(Nstor Milli Bustillo)

5.- You Abuse

(Antonio Carlos, Jos Mara Valenti, Jos Carlos Jocafi)

6.- Grenade

(Junior Cepeda)

7.- I’m going to Pinar Del Rio

(Nstor Cruz)

8.- The Divorced

(Johnny Pacheco, Ramn Daz)

9- Bemba Color

(Jos Claro Fumero)