Caribbean L 46 ife, NOVEMBER 1-7, 2019
capital, two Saturdays ago,
Driven said Spice gave “a riveting
performance after making
a grand entrance with the
crowd, rejoicing in some of
the artiste’s greatest accomplishments
that were highlighted
on the big screen, as
she took the stage.”
Driven said Spice is “the
highest-ranking Jamaican on
Instagram in terms of followers,
has been spotlighted
in Vogue magazine for her
unique sense of style,” adding
that Spice’s “one of a kind personality
is shown even more
in her role as a cast member
of VH1’s ‘Love and Hip Hop:
Atlanta’”.
“She engaged fans online
leading up to the event and
wowed the crowd at the
unveiling,” Driven said.
Afterwards Spice posted a
message online about the official
ambassadorship.
“I’m so excited,” she said.
“I believe I have worked very
hard to get to this point, and
Magnum certainly has worked
for it.
“I love dancehall, and Magnum
Tonic Wine is the only
brand I believe that has truly
partnered with and tried to
push Dancehall in the Caribbean,”
Spice added. “It’s a
match made in heaven.”
According to LoopTT, the
announcement forms part of
the brand’s Big 20 activities,
commemorating 20 years
since it first hit the market
in 1999.
“This year is all about making
big moves, and we just
couldn’t think of a more fitting
ambassador than the
Queen of Dancehall,” said
Kamal Powell, Regional Brand
Marketing Manager, Magnum
Tonic Wine. “Magnum goes
big in every way, bold, vibrant,
dynamic, daring and that definitely
describes Spice’s personality.”
Powell said Magnum has
been “mounting massive executions
all over the region –
from Guyana to Trinidad, St.
Lucia and Barbados, as well
as developing more new and
exciting ways to get our consumers
involved.
“The surprises definitely
don’t stop here,” he said.
Havana, Cuba neighborhood as
the famous vocalist Celia Cruz,
and began studying piano and
singing at the age of seven at
the Instituto Superior de Arte
de Cuba. Shortly after completing
her education, she joined
La Orquesta Anacaona, the
iconic Cuban all-female group,
playing keyboards and singing.
As the lead vocalist, keyboardist
and arranger for the group,
she toured internationally in
the 1980s and early 1990s.
Leaving the orchestra in
1993, she settled in Barcelona,
Spain to form her own group
as well as to become a film and
television actress. Her 2010
release Álbum de Cuba was
earned a Latin Grammy nomination.
This year she was recognized
as the Best Latin American
Children’s Movie Actress
and Best Children’s Music
Singer at the Premios Latino
2019 Awards. After first appearing
with Celia Cruz at a 1998
performance event in Marbella,
Spain, they became lifelong
friends until Celia’s passing.
“My admiration, respect and
love for Celia runs very deep,”
Lucrecia says. “They call her
the queen of salsa, but she was
always the guarachera de Cuba.
It was always about her Cuba,
and taking it with her around
the world.”
Celia Cruz was born in
Havana, Cuba and was drawn
to music from an early age. She
studied voice, music theory
and piano at Havana’s National
Conservatory of Music and rose
to fame as a singer of guarachas,
earning the nickname
“La Guarachera de Cuba”. After
singing with Las Mulatas Del
Fuego, she was invited to join
the popular orchestra La Sonora
Matancera as lead vocalist
where she mastered a wide
variety of additional musical
styles including rumba, son
and bolero.
Headlining at Havana’s most
popular cabarets including the
Tropicana, Sans Souci, Bamboo,
and Topeka, Celia also
recorded many albums with
the orchestra starting with
Canta Celia Cruz in 1956. At
the time of the 1959 Communist
takeover of Cuba, La Sonora
Matancera was touring in
Mexico, and the band decided
to relocate to New York City,
rather than return to Cuba.
Celia became an American citizen
in 1961 and joined the Tito
Puente Orchestra, becoming a
dynamic focus for the band
with her flamboyant attire,
crowd engagement and unfaltering
vocals.
In the 1970’s she reinvented
herself by singing in the
1973 Latin opera Hommy (a
version of The Who’s rock
opera Tommy) and by recording
updated Latin classics for
Johnny Pacheco’s Vaya label.
Emerging as a vibrant singer
within New York City’s salsa
scene, she collaborated with
Pacheco on a series of albums
beginning with 1974’s Celia y
Johnny with its dynamic single
“Quimbara”, and Celia also featured
prominently in the salsa
supergroup Fania All Stars.
Continued from Page 45
Continued from Page 45
in Brooklyn.
She said that before colonialism,
revolutions and declarations
of independence, there
was Quisqueya, the native Taino
(Arawak) name for Hispaniola,
the island that comprises Haiti
and the Dominican Republic.
“As compatriots and descendants
of this land, we are forever
bound together by our history,”
Louis said. “No border should
ever divide what was once united.
We are one people, one island,
‘One Brooklyn’.
“This joint celebration alongside
my colleagues, Council
Members Rafael L. Espinal, Jr.
and Antonio Reynoso, is a historic
step forward to reunite the
eastern and western sides of
an island that will be stronger
together,” she added. “This event
was not just a celebration but
the start of a conversation that
I hope will bring forth ideas and
solutions to help resolve conflicts
in Brooklyn and on the island.”
“Quisqueya is a celebration of
two countries and two cultures
that share one island,” Espinal
said. “Even though there’s a
troubled history, here in New
York City, we’ve seen what’s possible
when we act united. We
forge unity from our diversity,
and sustain that unity even in
times of hardship.
“I’m proud to come together
with my colleagues Council
Member Farah Louis and Council
Member Antonio Reynoso
to lead this celebration and to
honor outstanding members
of our community,” he added.
“Together, as leaders in New York
City, we can’t forget the problems
of our home countries, but
we have a responsibility to come
together in spaces like this to
celebrate what we have achieved,
and strengthen our kinship with
one another.
“The change we make in our
city, the pride we bring to our
culture, all of this is in our hands
no matter what the politics are at
home,” Espinal continued.
“If we stay true to this, then
we will continue to stand as
examples of true unity.”
Continued from Page 45
Cuban born Lucretia stars in “Celia Cruz-The Musical.”
Cultural
unity
Spice now Magnum amb.
CELIA CRUZ
Dominican Republic Grupo Folklorico Naiboa performs at
Brooklyn Borough Hall. Offi ce of Council Member Farah Louis