MADRID, Spain.- A new collection of the American publishing group Macmillan Children was released this week with a book dedicated to the Cuban singer Celia Cruz.
The series of biographies, under the title of Hispanic Star, aims to introduce children to Latino personalities who have influenced American culture.
This first installment, about “The Queen of Salsa,” was written by Claudia Romo Edelman, founder of the We Are All Human Foundation, and William Alexander, a National Book Award-winning Cuban-American author. The illustration was in charge of Alexandra Beguez.
“Meet the Salsa Queen, Celia Cruz, a girl from Havana, Cuba, who loved to sing. Her soulful voice, her compelling charm and her unstoppable determination led to her meteoric rise to fame, opening the door for Latin artists everywhere. Her flourishing career took her from the Sonora Matancera to the Fania All-Stars, with the growing popularity of salsa, a genre born from Afro-Cuban musical styles. Six decades and more than seventy albums later, Celia’s influence is still undeniably embedded in music today,” reads the book review.
Along with the biography of Celia Cruz, that of the Puerto Rican baseball player and Major League Baseball (MLB) star, Roberto Clemente, was presented.
In Hispanic Stars, a brand-new biography series for kids by @claudiagonzalez, learn about the lives of Celia Cruz, La Reina de la Salsa and MLB superstar Roberto Clemente! The first two books are out in English and Spanish this Tuesday: https://t.co/3ZmpJ4M2XV pic.twitter.com/vw8tK7VIou
— Macmillan Children’s School & Library ? (@MacKidsSL) September 4, 2022
Celia Cruz, also known as the “guarachera of Cuba”, was born on October 21, 1925 in the Havana neighborhood of Santo Suárez, and died on July 16, 2003 in New Jersey, United States.
When her talent was already recognized on the island, she was chosen to replace Mirta Silva, the lead singer of the popular Sonora Matancera orchestra. She was with this group for 15 successful years.
He left Cuba on July 15, 1960 for Mexico, to fulfill a 4-week contract. She never came back. Fidel Castro’s dictatorship did not allow it.
Interpreter of popular songs such as “La negra tú tumba’o”, “La vida es un carnival”, and “Burundanga”, throughout her career she received 19 nominations and was a 5-time winner of the Grammy Awards. She recorded more than 70 albums and participated in 10 film productions.
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