MADRID, Spain.- Born on March 16, 1928 in the province of Matanzas, Celina González came to be called the queen of Cuban punto.
One of his greatest hits in this musical genre (also known as punto guajiro), was “Yo soy el punto cubano”. This song was written by her together with the guitarist Reutilio Domínguez, who was first her musical partner and then her husband. In addition to Cuba, the song became a hit in many countries.
Celina and Reutilio had met in the mid-40s, when she was only 16 years old, and they soon created a duo.
In 1948 they began to work with Ñico Saquito, author of the famous songs “María Cristina” and “Walk like Chencha, la Gambá”, among many others. Ñico Saquito influenced the guaracha-sones of Celina and Reutilio.
As a duo they traveled several times to the Dominican Republic and New York; in the latter they acted with Benny More and Barbarito Diez.
In 1964 the duo of Celina and Reutilio broke up. Celina started her solo career. They were times of Nueva Trova and a time of religious repression. Celina’s religious-themed guarachas were silenced. In her guarachas, in addition to her peasant roots, the influence of African religions had always stood out. In the 1970s she was little heard on the radio and hardly appeared on television. But she was still one of the icons of popularity on the Island.
In 2001, she was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, for Fifty years… like a queen, recorded with his son. It is also included in his discography The Rich Harvest and From Havana I bring you.
Celina González passed away on February 4, 2015, after years of suffering from a vascular disease.
