Twenty years after the death of Celia Cruz, “Cuba’s Garachira”

Cuban singer Celia Cruz He was remembered in the sanctuary dedicated to Cuba’s patron saint in MiamiWhere the choir performed the song “Guantanamera” as a tribute marking the twentieth anniversary of his death.

“Garachira Cuba and the world,” said her relatives who attended the tribute, He passed away on July 16, 2013 And in Miami, the anniversary was celebrated in advance as the main event of the celebration takes place in New York this weekend.

About 50 people, including a cousin, nephew and other relatives of the artist, attended the inauguration and blessing of a bench with the name Celia Cruz engraved located on the walkway next to the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre and apparently towards Cuba.

After the opening, a mass was celebrated dedicated to the salsa star, who dedicated herself to the patron saint of Cuba, who took her name because her name was Celia Caridad Alfonsa Cruz.

In the homily, the ruling priest sadly stated that Celia Cruz, who had gone into exile in the United States, was unable to return to Cuba and asked God to release political prisoners and that “all Cubans live in complete freedom and justice”.

He was among those who attended the mass Singer Yotuel Romero, one of the authors of the song “Patria y Vida”, Which has become the anthem of the protests that broke out in Cuba on July 11, 2021, which is only two years old.

In a statement to EFE, Romero, who was accompanied by his wife, Spanish singer and actress Beatriz Luengo, and their two children, said, “Celia must be remembered every day.”

He emphasized that although La Guarachira de Cuba had to leave physically 20 years ago, it remains spiritually present.

“Celia is present in my life and in the life of my family,” Romero said.

Omar Pardillo, who was the representative of Celia Cruz and who today runs a foundation bearing her name, stressed that the tribute to Cuba’s “garachira” will continue in Miami with an exhibition that will open its doors. In Little Havana on July 27 and collects things that belong to him It relates to his career as well as the clothes and wigs he used in his artistic performances.