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CELIA CRUZ
OUR TEACHER
As
a teacher of English as a foreign/second language down here in
Mexico City for 30 years, one of the things that my students
taught me was something that usually happened after the class
ended and students were leaving the classroom. They would thank
me for the class. Most of the time, it was in Spanish and occasionally
it was in English.
Our beloved Doña Celia
Cruz had originally studied to become a teacher. As fate would
have it, she never walked into a classroom, wrote on the blackboard,
erased the blackboard, corrected homework or graded exams on
weekends. Yet Doña Celia turned out to be an extraordinary
teacher in her own way.
Doña Celia taught by
example 24/7. It made no difference if she was on stage or in
her private life. She taught us how to be ourselves, how to be
authentic and genuine. Whether she was on stage creating poetry
on the spot and in clave with her incredible God-given voice
or worrying about getting the right detergent to wash Don Pedro
Knightís shirts, she was authentic and genuine.
She shared her "Azucar",
her joy for living, with everyone 24/7. In the world of show
business where egos sometimes match or even surpass the talent
of the artist, Doña Celia was always remained authentic
and genuine. She taught us humility, dignity, and class. Though
we all knew her as the "Queen ñ Reina", she
never stopped teaching while wearing her crown.
Doña Celia and her
husband, Don Pedro, taught the world how to live a marriage to
its fullest, based on mutual respect, care, concern, friendship,
faithfulness, sharing, and overall teamwork. Again, teaching
was by example, not in the classroom.
On stage, Doña Celia
was a true professional. She had the uncanny ability to take
any topic, theme, or subject and improvise with such poetry,
logic, and clave, along with her incredible voice. Just take
the guaracha "Mi Caso" recorded with Willie Colon and
how she goes through all the semantic meanings and possibilities
for the word Caso, or other tunes ranging from the
Mexican Cancion Ranchera "Cucurrucucu'
Paloma", recorded as a guaguanco', to "Latinos en Estados
Unidos" with its social message.
Doña Celia was also AFRO-CUBA. Regardless of whether she
sang in a conjunto, big band, or santerÌa format, Doña
Celia was CUBA personified. Wherever Doña Celia went,
CUBA went with her, and she shared it with all of us.
A time of mourning when a
loved one is called on to go to the other world is never easy.
But one very fundamental thing that all of us can and should
do is to say "Thank You ñ Muchas Gracias" to
our teacher for everything she has taught us.
Aunque Doña Celia Cruz
nunca fue maestra de escuela de manera formal, nos enseño'
mucho y la c·tedra que nos impartio es para toda una eternidad.
Muchas gracias, Maestra!
Richard Cadena
MÈxico City
The Greatest Latin
Crossover Artists
