Celia: The Life & Music of Celia Cruz

This is a beautiful performance that was very well-​written. For those of us who are Cuban or of Cuban descent, Celia pieces together all the stories told to us by our grandparents. For those of us who are not of Cuban descent, this musical gives us an insight into the world of an incredible woman and her struggles of leaving behind everything she had ever known and loved due to Castro and his régime.
I have never been so moved by a performance and was fortunate to see it in Spanish here in Miami. If you understand the Spanish language, I suggest that you buy tickets for the Spanish performance as it will give you the chills at some points because the woman who plays Celia looks, sounds, and moves just like her.

The Life and Music of Celia Cruz is one of the best musicals I’ve seen all year. The production visually and musically captures the spirit of Celia Cruz beautifully. A full live band sits onstage throughout the entire performance so that throughout each song sung by the ‘Salsa Queen’ you feel like you’re at a live concert, on several occasions I felt it was even better than being at a live concert. There is something so powerful about Celia Cruz’s music that made it nearly impossible for the audience to sit in their seats without surrendering to the inevitable impulse to dance. Heads bobbed, hands clapped, shoulders swayed and the crowd irresistibly moved to the Cuban beats. It was an exhilarating experience. The story of Celia Cruz’s life is as moving as her music, the production covers her every step from the moment she was born to the moment she met the love of her life, sang her first tune, to the crucial instance during her career when she sadly grew apart from her native land after neglecting to abide by Fidel Castro’s rules. One of the most fascinating aspects about it was the wardrobes, Kitty Hiccups would have a field day with the amazing dresses worn by the Cuban diva; not to mention the hairstyle and wigs designed especially for Celia Cruz’s impressive performances. The lyrical narration is as compelling and authentic as it gets, it’s enough to say that I had a knot in my throat by the end of the show because I was so deeply moved by it. It definitely conveyed the importance of nationalism, love, history and music in the life of one of the best artists ever to grace the stage. I encourage everyone to go see it whether it’s the version in Spanish or in English.