You’re probably familiar with Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa.
The late Cuban singer is one of the best-selling Latin music artists, with over 30 million records sold. But you likely have never heard her legendary music arranged with an orchestra.
Celia Sinfónica is a new concert that transforms Cruz’s hits into sweeping symphonic arrangements, performed live by the FIU Symphony Orchestra alongside renowned vocalists and instrumentalists.
Grammy Award-winner Lucrecia is one of the famed vocalists who will perform tomorrow. She met Cruz in 1998 and was deemed Cruz's "successor" by the Queen of Salsa herself.
At the rehearsal, Lucrecia sang Yo Viviré, Cruz's salsa cover of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive.
The immersive musical and visual journey celebrates Cruz’s life, artistry and enduring cultural legacy, just weeks after what would’ve been her 100th birthday on Oct. 21.
READ MORE: Exhibit of Celia Cruz opens in South Florida to mark 100th birthday of the 'Queen of Salsa'
Maestro Javier José Mendoza, the orchestra’s conductor, said it was easy to accept the concept when the Celia Cruz Foundation approached them with it.
“ We love Celia Cruz here at FIU, we love connecting with our community, we also are very lucky, the Celia Cruz papers are here in our library… it just makes sense that we would celebrate Celia Cruz's 100th birthday in this grand manner.”
The Queen of Salsa’s music transcends generations. Gianluca Nagaro, a first chair graduate student violin player who will be performing in Celia Sinfónica, knows it well — when he was growing up, his parents would play Cruz’s music all the time.
“ They would tell me stories, how I'd always sing all the lyrics and everything,” said Nagaro, who is the current concert master of the FIU Symphony Orchestra. “I hadn't listened to Celia Cruz in a while, and then once we started playing this music and I started listening to it again… It came back to me immediately.”
This isn’t the first time they’ve performed songs that were from different genres. Last October, the orchestra performed alongside Puerto Rican singer and reggaeton icon Yandel. That collaboration then led to a Grammy-nominated live album, Yandel Sinfónico En Vivo, which has now become a multi-city tour.
In October, as part of FIU’s Music Festival, they performed Maestra Vida, an album by famed Panamanian musician Rubén Blades, fusing salsa and Latin jazz with the depth of an orchestra.
Nagaro has played in the two previous shows. He said that playing these songs is a different experience and a great learning experience for classically trained musicians.
“ I think this is a really good change of pace, being able to adapt to different genres of music,” he said. "Reggaeton we did, we're doing salsa music right now, and it's just a whole different thing… It's great because, I'm not saying classical music gets boring, but it's nice to change it up every once in a while.”
Mendoza says that this is more than just a “fusion” because they aren’t fusing salsa or Latin jazz with orchestral elements.
“ I wouldn't say it's fusion because all we've done is use a different vehicle to present the same thing”, he said. “The color changes, the sound changes, the depth of sound changes… You can get so much more volume out of an orchestra.”
A 2024 report from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra found that interest in classical music has increased, with newcomers outnumbering long-time enthusiasts in the audience.
Mendoza is excited for more people to experience the orchestra as a vehicle for playing a wider range of genres than it has historically played, as he believes we will see more of this in the future.
“ I hope that FIU will be seen as a leader nationally, among collegiate ensembles that do this type of thing, because I believe that this is absolutely our future, that we have audiences to build,” he said.
“If the orchestra must adapt to remain relevant, and I'm not saying the other things we play should go away, absolutely they should not, but we have to cultivate an audience, and this is one way to cultivate an audience.”
IF YOU GO
What: Celia Sinfónica
When: Saturday, November 22
Where: Adrienne Arsht Center - Ziff Ballet Opera House
Cost: $64.34 - $239.84
Information: Here
