There was plenty of music: La Vida es un Carnaval and Guantanamera, among others, were sung with energy and passion. And there were dozens of shouts of ‘Azúcar!’ too.
What would you expect at an event to honor Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa?
But the festivities Friday in Fort Lee, where Cruz posthumously was awarded a star on the Walk of Fame at the Barrymore Film Center, was about so much more than that.
Cruz, who lived in Fort Lee for much of her adult life, after leaving her native Cuba following the Revolution, meant so much in so many ways to so many.
Beyond the more than three dozen studio albums, five Grammy awards and appearances in movies and telenovelas — not to mention thousands of nights singing in the clubs — was a voice for numerous generations and numerous cultures.
Hers was a voice of passion, culture, freedom and resistance.
Luis De La Hoz, the chairman of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, one of the sponsors of the event, put it this way.
“Celia Cruz’s music became the soundtrack for people around the world because it spoke a language far beyond Spanish — it was the language of emotion, energy and identity,” he said. “Her voice carried the essence of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, but her boldness, charisma and powerful message of joy and survival resonated globally.
“Whether you understood her words or not, you felt her. From salsa clubs in New York and Havana to stages in Africa, Europe and Asia, her music captured the spirit of celebration and resistance.”
Alberto Garofalo, the president of Bank of America in New Jersey, another co-sponsor, couldn’t have agreed more. For him, the event was personal.
Garofalo, a native of Cuba who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 7, said Cruz has been an integral part of his life’s journey.
“Celia Cruz was a common voice in our household,” he said. “For me, she represents what’s possible. She broke through so many barriers and demonstrated so much more than the voice and the talent that she was.”
That reach was clear.
The event was outside of the district of Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark). And Ruiz’s heritage goes to a different island (Puerto Rico). But Ruiz said she couldn’t miss the event.
Ruiz is the first Latina to lead a state legislative body in New Jersey — an accomplishment she traces to the trailblazing efforts of Cruz.
She talked about how Cruz was the first woman and the first woman of color to do so many things in the entertainment world. Future generations in all walks of life need to learn from her, Ruiz said.
“(They need to) understand what she did as a trailblazer, as a legacy maker, as a history maker, but most importantly, as a Latina firebomb,” she said.
Those messages are never more important than they are today, said Carlos Medina, the CEO of the Hispanic Chamber and a Cuban American.
“In my family, Celia has always been very revered,” he said. “She is somebody that we look up to — somebody that perfectly represents the passion, the grit of the Cuban American.”
Medina noted that Cruz, knowing she could never return to her homeland, always conducted herself with grace and class. She was an example for all, he said.
“We need role models today with what’s going on with immigration,” he said. “We need people to stick up and speak for immigrants that are coming here with good intentions to do good things. Are there bad apples in every organization, every population, sure, but the majority of immigrants are good people, and Celia is the gold star of an immigrant that came to New Jersey.”
And, oh what an experience it was.
The event was blessed to have Cruz’s niece, Linda Bequer-Pritchett, who flew up from South Fulton, Georgia, where she serves as mayor.
Bequer-Pritchett told stories about living with Cruz in Fort Lee (her mom and Cruz were sisters) and watching her perform around the region.
“At one o’clock in the morning, I’m sitting at the table drinking Shirley Temples, and she’s singing Quimbara,” she said with a laugh.
But even in her household, Cruz’s impact went beyond the music.
“What I saw was an example of professionalism and a work ethic that is just incomparable,” she said. “It has helped me in my political career, because the struggle was real for her people, for our people. She always carried her sense of pride as being Cuban, as being Latina, and I think she demonstrated that to the world with her music.”
The world still is taking notice.
Cruz, who passed in 2003 at the age of 77, would have turned 100 this year in October. Her memory lives on in her music and her impact — and in the U.S. mint.
Omer Pardillo-Cid, the executor of her estate, is proud that Cruz was the 14th woman —and first Latina — to be honored by being placed on a quarter.
Pardillo-Cid said the symbolism cannot be overlooked.
“She probably came from Cuba with a few quarters in her pocket, and now she’s on the quarter in the U.S.,” he said. “She was black, a woman, poor. She came from an island and conquered the world with her voice and her music.”
