Celia Cruz - Exitos Eternos: Centennial Edition [2LP Cuivre]

Éxitos Eternos: Centennial Edition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Celia Cruz with seventeen essential titles remastered and pressed on copper-colored vinyl for the occasion.

She left Cuba in 1960 and never returned, building a career in exile that has only grown. The Guarachera of Cuba became, decades later, the undisputed queen of salsa across an entire hemisphere. More than ten million records sold, a ranking among the greatest singers of all time according to Rolling Stone, and in 2024 her face on an American twenty-five cent coin, the first Afro-Latina to appear on American currency. This collection highlights what made him essential, not only the successes but also the collaborations, a career built as much on generosity towards other artists as on his own inimitable voice.

Quimbara, recorded live, shows Cruz at his explosive peak, his famous voice piercing straight through the orchestra. La Vida Es Un Carnaval conveys the philosophy she has preached for decades, joy as a deliberate choice rather than an accident of circumstance. Guantanamera, also live and with La India, brings together two generations of the genre's greatest voices, and Soy Loco Por Ti América includes Caetano Veloso for one of the album's most unexpected duets.

A century after her birth, she remains the strongest and most joyful voice in the room. The copper-colored vinyl befits a legacy built on so much warmth.