To mark the centennial of the birth of the “Queen of Salsa”, Celia Cruz, Craft Latino is celebrating by reissuing some her best-loved and most influential albums throughout 2025. The celebration kicks off with a reissue of Cruz’s North American solo debut Son con guaguancó. By the time Son con guaguancó was released in 1966, Celia Cruz had already spent over a decade as one of the premier voices of Afro-Cuban music. Having risen to fame with La Sonora Matancera before leaving Cuba in the wake of the revolution, this album marked her transition from a celebrated but somewhat traditionalist singer to the future “Queen of Salsa.” This record is bursting with energy, dynamic arrangements, and Cruz’s unmistakable powerhouse vocals, proving that even before her rise to salsa superstardom, she was a force to be reckoned with.
The album opens with one of Cruz’s defining anthems, “Bemba colorá.” This fierce guaracha-mambo is a showcase of Cruz’s commanding presence as she delivers the lyrics with fire and conviction over a whirlwind of horns and percussion. It remains one of her most iconic recordings, capturing the raw energy that would later make her a legend. The titular track follows with rhythmic fusion, blending the traditional son montuno with the urban, street-born guaguancó. The percussion is crisp, the brass is bold, and Cruz maneuvers through the beats with effortless charisma. One of the album’s lighter moments comes with “Oye mi consejo,” a guajira-style song where Cruz playfully warns listeners to take heed of her advice if they want to live a long life. Her voice dances over the melody with a warmth that makes it irresistibly charming. Meanwhile, “El Cohete” adds a cha-cha-cha rhythm and lyrics about a journey to the moon. In an era when the world was fixated on space exploration, Cruz takes the theme and infuses it with her signature Cuban flavor, making for a playful and stylish tune.
On “Se me perdió la cartera,” Cruz weaves her experience into her music. Though it may sound like a lighthearted lament about losing a purse, its frantic energy and Cruz’s urgency suggest deeper themes of displacement and adaptation, mirroring her own experience as an immigrant rebuilding her life. “Es la humanidad” slows things down with a bolero that reflects on the troubles of the world, showcasing Cruz’s ability to deliver profound sentiment just as powerfully as she does high-energy dance numbers.
Though not the commercial juggernaut that some of her later releases would become, Son con guaguancó is a defining moment in Celia Cruz’s career. It captures her versatility, her ability to channel joy and sorrow with equal force, and her deep connection to the music of her homeland. With this release being mastered from the original analog tapes by Clint Holley as Well Made Music, this 180-gram pressing sounds flawless and is the essential release for any fan of Celia Cruz. Nearly 60 years later, it remains an essential listen, not just as a historical artifact but as an album that marks the start of the journey that would see Celia Cruz become the “Queen of Salsa.”
