The Queen of Salsa vs Fidel Castro
Celia Cruz was born Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925, in a working-class neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. She began singing professionally on Cuban radio and in nightclubs in the late 1940s while studying music theory and voice at a music academy in Havana from 1947 to 1950. In 1950, she began singing with the popular Cuban orchestra La Sonora Matancera. Over the next 15 years, their collaboration had many hit singles, which raised Celia to the top as she performed diverse Afro-Cuban music throughout the Caribbean, South America, and the U.S. While Celia’s career was placing her as one of the best singers on the island, the Cuban revolution was also beginning. The Cuban revolution was an
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She was being forced to pay a quote for being a singer and she was told that she couldn’t talk down the new government whenever she came to the United States. As luck would have it, she was being interview with the President of Mexico and it was believed that she said something that Castro didn’t like and because of that she was consider a communist and was banned from the island.
It was believed that Castro in a way envied Celia because of success and because of how the people loved her. He wanted to be the most powerful man in the island but that never happen. This envy was what let him to close the doors of the island to Celia and other artist that were against his regime. He also banned her music from the island. So many fans of Celia weren’t able to listen to her anymore because they could’ve gone to jail for being consider a communist. His hatred was so powerful towards Celia that even when her mother and father died, he didn’t let her attend their funerals.
During the time that she was exile from Cuba and came to the United States, she wrote many songs that express the feelings she had for leaving her mother behind and for one day to see Cuba free. One of her most powerful songs that express her love for the island and what the island has been through is called “In Case Of No Returned”. In this song she talks about how she might not be able to come back to Cuba before she dies and how she wish to see the island free. It was a very
The Cuban government was not ideal for its people at the time, so they decided to initiate a change. Before Castro’s revolution, Cuba’s economy was highly based on tropical fruits, sugar, and tobacco. During this time, the government of Cuba mainly consisted of wealthy land-owning conservatives. Fidel Castro, a strong liberal who thought the Cuban government was corrupt, decided to bring together a band of two-hundred revolutionaries (Carey, Jr. 15). These revolutionaries attacked the Moncada Military barracks on July 26th, 1953 resulting in a failure that earned both Castro and the revolutionaries a ten-year prison sentence. Two years into his sentence, Castro was exiled to Mexico and began to plot another attempt in Mexico City. After many battles with Cuba’s National Army, Castro’s rebels were able to keep Cuba in a state of turmoil while other rebel groups were able to gain control. Through his actions, he was able to gain the support of the Cuban people who thought he was the logical choice for the new leader (Carey, Jr. 15).
Selena Quintanilla-Perez was an artist in the Tejano music industry that contributed to revolutionizing the style of music in the United States today. The Tejano music genre is originated from Texas but it may be called Tex-Mex because of its Mexican background. Throughout her career, Selena was not only inspired by Tejano music but created a fusion of musical genres that incorporated other Latin sounds and inevitably won over Latinos across the country. Selena brought the Latino community together with her music. Despite that Selena was an American born Mexicana, she began her career in the Spanish-speaking music industry in a specific genre, Tex-Mex.
Celia Cruz was one of the most famous Cuban salsa singers. She was nicknamed the Queen of Salsa, with more than thirty-six albums, recorded with some other leading singers in Latin music. Celia worked as a singer for more than forty years, and during that time, she became well known for her vigorous work, great personality, and her emotional way of singing. During her performances, she was well known for being able to improvise lyrics. She was an artist with over six decades of success making her an inspiration to the Latin community as well as the rest of the world.
Castro was a socialist, a leninist and a marxist. His attitude throughout his “dictatorship” was the way he communicated with the United States on military, trading agreements and politics. As he came to control the country, he made the promise to maintain the Cuban constitution of 1940, a constitution which guaranteed certain individual rights to the citizens of Cuba. Also stating that all of the governmental representatives would be held exactly a year from the day he took control. Despite not actually being in office, Castro was the most important force in regards to the post Batista Government. His full control of the country came when the former prime minister Miro Cardona resigned after a month of work with Castro.
First, I will talk about her childhood and how she became famous. Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican singer. According to biography.com she was born on “April 16,1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas.” She was known as the “Queen of Tejano” which is a style of Mexican music such as country. Selena’s first language was English, but her father taught her to sing in Spanish, so she picked up on the language, and became a fluent Spanish speaker. At the age of 10 Selena was the lead singer in her family’s band known as “Selena Y Los Dinos.” They played in weddings and clubs in Texas but it was hard for them because a lot of people think that women can’t get the attention of men singing Tejano music, but she proved them wrong.
Also and perhaps most importantly, this law prohibited the ownership of any sugar plantations by any foreigners, something that Castro felt so passionately was the blame for the dysfunctional economy that was in place during Batista’s regime due to him allowing foreign industries to take advantage of the island’s resources.
In 1961, she won the best supporting actress in the Academy Award for her role in the West Side Story. Another example that lead to the main claim of the movie was the story of Herman Badillo. He was an orphan from Puerto Rico that arrived in New York by 1941, because his parents died from tuberculosis. He went to Haaron High and graduated from there. He became Bronx Borough President in 1966, and he made a friend with President Kennedy. He became extremely important person for the Latino society, especially Puerto Ricans, because he helped them to vote in an election. He paved a way for many Puerto Ricans to vote and he also fought against discrimination. Later in his life, he became a Congressman and he opened up a way so that all races can vote. Another evidence that support the main claim of the movie was the story of Manuel Capo. He was an immigrant from Cuba, that leave the country because of Fidel Castro. Him and his sons moved to Miami to start a small business. However, they didn’t know how to speak English, so it was hard for them at
In the 1950s Cuba had a Revolution. There was many causes of the Cuban Revolution. The Cuban revolution lasted 6 years from 1953 through 1959, “included president Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship, brutal suppression and poverty. These factors led to a revolution led by Fidel Castro to overthrow Batista and his government”. This is why this all started. This relates to the book because in the book Sonia’s parents die because of this revolution and its affecting her life because she doesn't want to let her kid go to war in Afghanistan. She lived in Cuba and she moved to the U.S because of the revolution and because her parents died in a revolution she doesn't want to lose her son just like she did with her parents. One of the reasons why Melinda
Selena Quintanilla was a Mexican-American singer that dramatically impacted the world of Tejano music. “Selena transformed Tejano music from a local genre performed on a circuit of small venues into an international form that expressed the aspirations of many in the latino community,” affirms The Nineties in America. She was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas and died on March 31, 1995 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture states that, “she [Selena] was widely popular with Latino audiences, especially young women, who looked to her as a role model.” Although, Selena had a short life that did not prevent her from becoming a legend.
Fulgencio Batista was elected President of Cuba between 1940 and 1940. In 1952 Batista declared that constitutional guarantees and the right to strike will be suspended. He became a dictator with absolute power over Cuba. Batista turned the Cuban capital of Havana into one of the largest gambling cities in the world. Batista reorganised the Cuba’s treasury so that political representatives and himself can take freely from the riches. Under Batista’s rule, education and health care wasn’t free to the general public. The Cuban public were not satisfied with Batista and how he was ruling Cuba, the people didn’t have a say in decisions in government, were treated unfairly with high taxes, selling/giving the peoples land to American business owners.
Celia Cruz born Ursula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso, a female Cuban singer born October 21, 1925 in Havana Cuba was one of the most influential figures in Latin music. She started her musical career in her native country in the late 1940’s early 1950’s performing for various Cuban radio shows and traveling with the orchestra accompanying the dancing group “Las Mulatas del Fuego.” Her big break came in 1950 when she joined “La Sonora Matancera” the most famous orchestra in Cuba at the time. Celia traveled all over Latin America in the 1950’s with “La Sonora” gaining great success in countries like Venezuela and Mexico. She recorded various albums with the orchestra and gained great popularity during that time with songs like “Caramelo”, “Burundanga”, and
Selena Quintanilla was the daughter of Marcela and Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. She was born April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. Selena was the youngest out of three children. Her older siblings were Abraham III, and Suzette. Selena’s father discovered her talent one day while he sat in the living room playing the guitar and she came over and began to sing. Her voice was pure and perfect. “I could see it from day one”, her father said. Selena’s father quit his job in the plant he worked for and opened a restaurant where Selena performed every weekend with her brother and sister calling themselves “Selena y Los Dinos”. The restaurant went down after the Texas oil bust, putting Texas in a recession. Selena and her family then started touring all over Texas and the US performing at weddings and honky tonks.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez started singing the Tejano music that eventually made her famous in her father's restaurant in Lake Jackson, Texas. Her father Abraham taught the family band and named them Los Dinos after his own group from earlier years. Selena's brother, A.B., played bass, and her sister, Suzette, played drums.
The second reason is simply a generation difference. One might assume that due to the very different upbringings and the societies that the two were brought up in, that very conflicting morals and values may have been molded. Celia grew up in a Cuba under the rule of a dictator-like, oppressive leader. Celia saw Cuba’s true poverty stricken state and long for a new regime. Reasons for Lourdes’s rebellious attitude toward her mother and Cuba in general are much more abundant and clear. Though Lourdes was raised in a very similar society as of that of her mother’s upbringing, but the severity of the government that ruled during her childhood produced a different view of the country all together. Lourdes is a very strong, independent woman whom has man complaints of the method of rule in Cuba. “Lourdes never accepted the life designated
She was the starving musician, the jazz singer who did all she could to stay alive and still do what she loves. The dedication she displayed to jazz is not easy to explain. She was a perfectionist in her fashion, depending upon her excellent ear, unique voice and honesty and love for people to keep her love alive.