Celia Cruz Celebration!
Amoeba Hollywood - October 17th @ 12:00pm
Amoeba celebrates Celia Cruz's 100th birthday on Friday, October 17th by playing her music and raffling off some fun prizes - including 2 rare Celia Cruz quarters - 2024 coins from the U.S. Women Quarters Program, featuring the "Queen of Salsa" on its reverse side, her signature phrase "¡AZÚCAR!" and a dynamic depiction of her performing, marking the historic moment as the first Afro-Latina woman to appear on U.S. currency.
Come by, enjoy some celebratory Salsa and take a picture of Celia Cruz's star on the Walk Of Fame in front of Amoeba! Attendees will receive a free Celia Cruz - Queen Of Salsa poster, FANIA sticker and a sweet treat (while supplies last).
Raffle tickets available to attendees beginning at noon. Raffle winners will be announced at 12:30!
1 raffle ticket per person, no purchase necessary. Must be present to win.
Craft Recordings is releasing Celia Cruz The Queen Of Salsa on CD (11/14) and LP (12/5). The album features 12 timeless tracks from her crowning years (1966–1993), including iconic collaborations with Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón & the Fania All Stars.
About:
Celia Cruz, the Afro-Cuban singer, rose from a humble Havana home to command half a century of Latin dance music with her sonorous voice and regal yet folksy personality.
She did not initially aspire to be a singer. She planned to be a teacher of literature. But when a cousin entered her name in a radio talent show, her life in show business became inevitable.
Cruz won the competition, and a flurry of amateur appearances followed. Her father considered the music business disreputable but, encouraged by her mother, Cruz started her music studies.
In 1950, she joined the legendary La Sonora Matancera after the band's lead singer, Myrta Silva, returned to Puerto Rico.
With the Matancera, Cruz recorded a number of songs that have become standards of the genre, such as "El Yerberito Moderno" and "Burundanga."
She left Cuba the year after Fidel Castro took power and her exile remained a deep wound throughout her life. In interviews, she expressed uncharacteristic bitterness that she was not allowed to return to the island to bury her mother, since the regime at the time considered her a traitor.
In all, Cruz recorded more than 70 albums and had more than a dozen Grammy nominations. She won two Grammys and three Latin Grammys. Those were among a host of honors and awards during her career, including the National Medal of Arts, the United States' highest official honor in the arts, bestowed by President Clinton in 1994.
