I don’t remember the first time I ever heard Celia Cruz, however my grandmother had a vinyl record of hers. I remember getting a CD in the early 1990s called “Boleros” and to this day it is one of my most loved and played CDs. Celia Cruz sang these songs that were soothing lullabies to my young troubled soul.
Boleros originated in Cuba and descended from the trova. It traveled to the rest of Latin America, where composers put their own style on this beloved musical form. The bolero transports me to another place and time and reminds me of an era I never knew, but that of my grandparents. This music also reminds me so much of my late father, who use to embarrass me as a teenager by singing boleros to me at the local Denny’s. How I wish I savored those moments so much more than I did. And asked him the names of all those amazing songs. (more…)
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