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Celia’s Story

Celia’s mom said that Celia started singing when she was 9 months old. Celia woke up singing in the night as a baby, and as she got older, Celia sang to her 3 little siblings to help them fall asleep. She loved the music of her country - Cuba. Cuban music uses drumming and rhythms from Africa mixed with the singing style and instruments (like trumpets) from Latin America. This combination is very lively and great for dancing!

Celia’s father wanted her to become a teacher, but Celia decided to study music at Havana’s National Conservatory of Music in Cuba. Celia sang on radio shows every week and won singing competitions. When a very popular Cuban band called La Sonora Matancera needed a new singer, Celia auditioned and joined them! La Sonora Matancera played their music for crowds of dancers in many countries across Central America, South America, and the United States. In New York City, people started to call this music “salsa”. Some people think this name was created because salsa music uses a mixture of styles, just like how salsa for food uses a mixture of ingredients and spices. Other people think this name comes from a type of dance called the salsa, which is a mixture of styles too!

It was very exciting to see a woman like Celia singing salsa. The lead singers for this type of music were usually men. Celia thought, “Women are afraid to sing salsa. I don't know why; maybe they think it's for men… But I think everybody can sing everything.''

In 1960, when Celia was 35 years old, Celia and the band decided to keep playing in other countries and did not return home to Cuba. The leader of Cuba was very powerful, and he became angry that Celia went away. He used his power to say that Celia could never come back to Cuba. Celia missed her family and her country. Even when Celia’s mom was sick, Celia was not allowed to visit.

A few years later, she officially became a citizen of the United States. At a coffee shop, the barista asked Celia if she wanted her coffee with sugar or without sugar. She replied with shock and excitement, “With sugar!” After that day, it became a catchphrase for Celia. You can hear her call out “Azúcar!” (Spanish for “sugar”) in many of her songs.

Celia has fans all around the world. She said, “I have fulfilled my father’s wish to be a teacher as, through my music, I teach generations of people about my culture and the happiness that is found in just living life. As a performer, I want people to feel their hearts sing and their spirits soar.”

Before Celia, Salsa music was mostly only enjoyed in Cuba, but she shared this style of music every time she performed in new cities. Now, Celia is known as “the Queen of Salsa” because salsa music is enjoyed all over the world! Celia’s singing career lasted 55 years and she recorded 69 albums - wow! The last song she recorded was called “Rie y Llora” (Laugh and Cry), about celebrating life fully and enjoying every moment.

October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003