HAVANA, Cuba.- July 16 marks the 21st anniversary of the physical disappearance of the fabulous Cuban singer Celia Cruz (1925-2003) in the United States. There is a lot of information about her 40 years of life in exile, but there is very little information about her first years in her country and the places where she lived. Therefore, I set out to investigate, from the few sources at my disposal, the place where Celia Cruz lived in Havana, and I managed to find it and talk to people who live there today.
I was surprised to see how, after so many years, they show sympathy and a certain pride in living in the place where Celia lived: the Las Margaritas lot, on Flores Street between Zapote and San Bernardino, in the Santos Suárez neighborhood.
Not only the residents of the neighborhood, but all the neighbors on the block with whom I spoke knew that Celia Cruz had lived in that citadel.
The entrance to the house is via a rustic staircase that leads to a long, narrow interior hallway. I found a woman in the portico who, with the help of her son, was carrying buckets of water from a basin. Without stopping her work, she confirmed to me that the singer had indeed lived there when she was very young, but denied that she had been born there.
I walked further into the passageway, and other residents revealed more details to me.
A lady who said she was 80 years old assured me: “In this room that you see, which is now made of masonry, Celia lived.”
The elderly woman was accompanied by some young neighbours, who happily posed for a photo, although they did not want to give their names.
The woman at the door and the owner of the property completed valuable information, pointing out that around the corner, in a house on the upper floors, on Zapote Street, between Flores and San Benigno, lived an aunt of Celia, who was now deceased, whom they called Niña Cruz, but they explained to me that today there, if at all, the descendants of the fourth or fifth generation live there.
They added that there were other relatives on Dolores Street, in Lawton (without specifying the address), who had a closer relationship with Celia.
Of course, during his visit to Las Margaritas, Díaz-Canel made no reference to Celia Cruz, who is censored in Cuba for her stance against the Castro regime.
A curiosity not mentioned in Celia Cruz’s biographies is the friendship she had with Néstor Milí, the composer of the musical piece that elevated her to stardom in Cuba, “El yerberito Moderno”, along with another famous melody, “Burundanga”.
One of Milí’s sons told in an interview how his father was inspired to compose “El yerberito Moderno”: “He was in Trillo Park, near his home, and there he paid attention to the calls of the herbalists. He saw how the name of the plant rhymed with its use. He ran to the house, and in one go wrote the popular number.”
Later, Celia went to Milí’s house and asked him for a composition to perform. He showed her some that he had written, which she didn’t like. When he presented her with “El yerberito Moderno”, she exclaimed: “That’s the one I want to record…”
I remember that the record company that published Celia Cruz’s records with Sonora Matancera was the North American company Seeco, which also made Vicentico Valdés’ records. The main distributor in the country was the Discuba agency, located on Neptuno, almost on the corner of Águila. While other recordings from different brands were sold for $5.95, Celia’s with Sonora Matancera and Vicentico’s were priced at $8.95.
I never saw Celia live, but I did see her on television, singing alongside a girl whose voice was similar to hers: Caridad Cuervo.
I know of the existence of biographies written and published abroad, to which I have never had access, but I believe that there is still more to be investigated about Celia Cruz, La Guarachera de Cuba, the Queen of Salsa, one of the most extraordinary and beloved figures of our music, who achieved so many awards and placed the name of our country so high.
OPINION ARTICLE
The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the person issuing them and do not necessarily represent the opinion of CubaNet.
Follow our channel WhatsApp. Receive the information from CubaNet on your cell phone through Telegram.
2024-07-23 22:05:00
#footsteps #Celia #Cruz
