11/22/2023 0 Comments Celia cubaSánchez died in Havana on 11 January 1980-just a few months shy of her sixtieth birthday-following a quiet battle with a “fungus” that she knew was really lung cancer. They stop to visit her childhood home, which became a national museum in 1989 and houses the largest single collection of her personal possessions anywhere on the island.Ĭubans will also honor the anniversary of Sánchez’s death this year. She is also the primary draw for the few hundred tourists who pass through town each year, many of whom are traveling with bicycle touring companies. She is more than a local hero she is their most intimate connection to Cuba’s broader revolutionary story. A number of boldly painted billboards posted along Media Luna’s main road proudly claim Sánchez as one of their own. The citizens of Media Luna bristle when recalling that the most famous song composed in Sánchez’s honor links her to nearby Manzanillo. One hundred years ago (), Sánchez was born in a small sugar mill town, Media Luna, on the eastern end of Cuba. This year marks two important anniversaries related to Cuba’s most revered female revolutionary leader. Sánchez was undoubtedly one of the primary architects of the silence surrounding her life, but her story needs telling. Sánchez even threatened to change her name after the revolutionary war ended in order to evade further press scrutiny. One of Sánchez’s long-time colleagues described her to me as “allergic” to cameras. Her legendary aversion to the press meant that few journalists ever interviewed her or captured her on film. citizens have still never even heard of her. Still today, however, few Cubans can recall the details of her life beyond a few anecdotes published in state-controlled newspapers on the anniversaries of her birth and death. Years later, her image would appear on two Cuban postage stamps, a commemorative one peso coin, and in the watermark of the twenty-peso note. She had earned the status of “first guerrilla of the Sierra Maestra,” as Fidel Castro’s primary confidant, and as the Cuban Revolution’s staunchest loyalist. What Kennedy soon learned was that Sánchez was the highest ranking and most revered woman within the Cuban revolutionary government. Berle reportedly replied: “Sánchez seems to be . . . Kennedy frowned upon seeing the unfamiliar name and asked, “But who is Celia Sánchez?” Ambassador A. A. Kennedy did not recognize the name when it appeared on blue CIA stationery under a red striped top-secret cover at a National Security Council meeting. In April 1965, Andrew St. George began his article for Parade with a rhetorical question: “Who is Celia Sánchez?” St. George went on to claim, “it is a reasonable if regrettable guess that, as this is written, not one American in a thousand knows.” Even President John F. Throughout her life, Cruz kept singing Guantanamera.If the name Celia Sánchez Manduley does not ring a bell, you are not alone. She refused to return to the island while Castro was in power (although she famously sang Guantanamera in Guantanamo, much to the displeasure of the Cuban regime) and became a United States citizen in 1961. She also appeared in 10 movies.Ĭelia Cruz was instrumental in making salsa famous internationally and in the United States, where she settled after leaving Cuba following her forced exile by Fidel Castro's regime in the 1960s. She recorded more than 70 albums – 23 of them went gold – and won two Latin Grammys and five Grammys. Her career, which started in Cuba before the revolution, lasted more than 60 years. In her autobiography, published in 2004 after she died, Cruz narrates her memories of singing "Guantanamera" nine times. Guantanamera is Celia Cruz's signature song, the one fans most identify with her (apart from La Vida es un Carnaval.) It appears in more than 241 different records or compilations of hers. Today, Guantanamo, the easternmost province of Cuba, is a United States naval base and infamous detention complex. The song is about a failed love and is dedicated to the women of the province - Guantanamera is about a woman from Guantanamo. Joseíto Fernández wrote the piece's lyrics using Marti's verses and, as early as 1929, popularized the song on the radio. Celia Cruz embedded Martí’s words into the national consciousness
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