The city of Miami, Florida, will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz next week with tributes ranging from a birthday party to a mass at the Ermita de la Caridad and a symphonic concert.
The most outstanding event will be on Tuesday, October 21, the date of the singer’s birth, a day on which the Celia Cruz Foundation convened a commemoration mass at the Ermita de la Caridad, a national sanctuary dedicated to the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, and one of the most symbolic places for the Cuban community in exile.
Under the slogan ‘United for Celia’, the ceremony will remember “with gratitude and joy” the musical and human legacy of the singer, who had a special connection with Miami after her exile by maintaining a close bond with the Cuban community in South Florida, becoming a cultural symbol of the region.
The Miami Shoe Museum will celebrate the birthday of the ‘Queen of Salsa’ with music, a cake and a large community greeting card to be created by visitors at the Intercontinental Hotel on the eve, Monday.
In the same space, the exhibition ‘Dancing Shoes: A Legacy in Motion’, which pays tribute to one of Celia Cruz’s most recognizable facets: her relationship with her wardrobe and, especially, with her shoes, will be on display throughout October.
The exhibition gathers original footwear of the singer, designed by her shoemaker par excellence, the Mexican Miguel Nieto, between the 1960s and 1970s.
Celia Cruz and her legacy
The eye-catching cantilever shoes that the Cuban wore on stage became an extension of her personality.
“With each step, Celia Cruz traced a journey of identity, art and transformation. Her shoes were more than an ornament; they contained the rhythm of her story,” the museum posted on its website.
The series of tributes will continue on November 22 with the concert ‘Celia Sinfónica’ at the Ziff Ballet Opera House, where the Florida International University (FIU) Symphony Orchestra will reinterpret the singer’s best-known songs.
It will be “a musical and visual journey” that celebrates Cruz’s life and legacy through symphonic arrangements and stage projections, according to the organization.
Born in Havana and exiled in the United States since 1960, Celia Cruz maintained a constant relationship with Miami until her death in 2003.
The city, which is home to the largest Cuban diaspora, has not forgotten her and has become one of the places where her music, with anthems such as ‘La vida es un carnaval’ and ‘Quimbara’, found a lasting echo among generations of Latin Americans, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
