Music Features

Aymée Nuviola portrayed Celia Cruz in the Cuban telenovela Celia.

Music & Culture

Portraying Celia: The Role Of A Lifetime (Or Two)

10:41am September 21, 2019

by Marisa Arbona-Ruiz

How do you inhabit the world's most well-known Latin singer? For singers and actresses Aymée Nuviola and Jeimy Osorio, playing Celia Cruz meant staying in touch with pain, joy and destiny.

Antonin Dvorak predicted that American classical music would draw from African American traditions. A new article wonders why American classical music has remained so white.

Music & Culture

Why Is American Classical Music So White?

2:01pm September 20, 2019

by Tom Huizenga

Early American composers could have shaken off their European sound and mined the rich trove of African American music. They didn't. And one historian believes we're worse off because of it.

Angelique Kidjo's Celia celebrates the music of Celia Cruz.

Music & Culture

Angélique Kidjo Celebrates Celia Cruz: 'Everything About Celia Is Self-Determination'

4:38pm September 19, 2019

Celia Cruz always embraced salsa's African roots — and West African musician Angélique Kidjo embraced her right back. Kidjo recently sat down with Alt.Latino to talk about Cruz's influence on her.

Constructing Jazz Inside Fine Art, And Vice-Versa

3:16pm September 19, 2019

by Nate Chinen

The jazz pianist has pulled the curtain off his polymathic abilities, bringing his fine art exhibition — which includes video, installations and performance — home to New York.

Celia Cruz, performing in Chicago in 1997.

Music & Culture

What She Brought With Her

10:17am September 19, 2019

by Alexandra T. Vazquez

It can be tempting to encapsulate Celia Cruz's life with a single phrase: "The Queen of Salsa." But she carried with her a deeper musical history from Cuba than that phrase can encompass.

"It's not a bad thing to be old fashioned, but, you know, not everything old fashioned was great either. This kind of meets in the middle," Jon Pardi says of his new album.

Music & Culture

Jon Pardi's Hyperactive Honky-Tonk Brings The Past Into The Present

10:01am September 19, 2019

by Jewly Hight

Heartache Medication favors muscled-up guitars and booming drums, but reserves a place of honor for gutsy, tunefully expressive fiddle and steel solos.

Ric Ocasek, photographed in New York in June, 1995 — the same year a young Matthew Caws handed him a demo recording of his band, Nada Surf. Shortly thereafter, Ocasek was producing the group's debut album, High/Low.

Music & Culture

The Time Ric Ocasek Helped My Band Make Its First Record

3:29pm September 18, 2019

by Matthew Caws

Matthew Caws' band Nada Surf had "no immediate prospects" when Caws passed Ocasek a demo tape at a show — and before he knew it, they were all in the studio together, recording the band's debut.

Music & Culture

Angélique Kidjo Explains Celia Cruz's Rhythmic Singing Style

10:00am September 18, 2019

Cruz, known as the "Queen of Salsa," always carried her African roots into her music. Watch Angélique Kidjo explain what Cruz's music means to her and demonstrate her unique way of singing.

Celia Cruz performs in New York in 1995. That same year, Deborah Paredez saw her at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom. "Cruz opened her mouth, the band lifted their horns and we came together on the dancefloor," she says.

Music & Culture

Celia Cruz: The Voice Of Experience

10:01am September 17, 2019

by Deborah Paredez

As a true diva, Cruz was of her time and capable of transcending it. Her voice carried lessons in presence and stamina, and her enduring legacy has created a space for feminist interventions in salsa.

Music & Culture

The World Of Celia Cruz: A Turning The Tables Playlist

4:54pm September 16, 2019

by Stefanie Fernández

Cruz remains matchless in meeting the pain of exile and immigration with as full and joyous a song as she sang. Hear a playlist of her best songs, plus music by the artists she inspired.