Celina González Zamora

Outstanding interpreter of Cuban peasant music. Her voice internationalized songs such as A Santa Bárbara and Yo soy el punto cubano. National Music Prize 2002.

Celina González was born in the settlement of La Luisa, near Jovellanos, in the province of Matanzas. Born to peasant parents, from childhood she was connected to music, since her parents and siblings used to sing at family celebrations. In this way, based on the household tradition, Celina learned the melodic and rhythmic foundation of guajiro singing.

Her family moved to Santiago de Cuba when she was still a child. Celina felt a great attraction to the Cuban punto, so during this stage she began to improvise décimas and cuartetas. While still an adolescent, she met Reutilio Domínguez, with whom she united her romantic life and became his professional partner for several decades.

Together with Reutilio –composer, guitarist, and singer– they formed a duo that soon became known in Santiago de Cuba. In 1947, the duo Celina y Reutilio made their radio debut on Cadena Oriental de Radio de Santiago. The couple combined the singer's voice, with its characteristic timbre, with Reutilio's skill as a guitarist, who was capable of playing high and low tones simultaneously.

They were discovered by Ñico Saquito when they performed on the program Atalaya Campesina, on the Santiago radio station. From Ñico, according to Celina, they learned to master popular rhythms and to delve deeper into son and guaracha. In 1948, the musician introduced them in Havana, on the regional station Radio Cadena Suaritos.

The duo performed with the guaracha A Santa Bárbara, also popularly known as Qué viva Changó, which became successful quickly. In the song they united the music of peasant punto with the syncretism of religions of Hispanic and African origin, as is customarily practiced in Cuba. According to Celina's words, the theme had been born from an extraordinary event, as the Virgin, in an apparition, had assured her of artistic triumph if she dedicated a song of praise to her. During their performances on this Havana station, they also counted on the bongosero Marcelo González, nicknamed El Blanco, which added substance to their music.

To their vital experience, which allowed them to make music of popular inspiration, they added readings of poets such as Nicolás Guillén, Raúl Ferrer, Jesús Orta Ruiz El Indio Naborí, Adolfo Martí, which helped them expand their cultural repertoire for improvisation and composition. Their music was a combination of the most authentic singing from peasant gatherings with the music and themes of the poetry of the era.

After their success, Celina and Reutilio obtained a contract with the nationwide radio broadcaster, RHC Cadena Azul, where they recorded numbers that were very popular. The public received with pleasure the combination of décimas and cuartetas typical of peasant music with themes dedicated to popular religiosity, where the pantheon of deities of African origin was highlighted, in their fusion with Catholic saints. Celina had inherited from her mother a religious devotion and in her voice was felt sincere celebration. Titles such as "A la reina del mar," "El hijo de Elegua," "A la Caridad del Cobre," were part of her repertoire.

During the 1950s, the duo gained prestige, popularity, and their themes became internationalized. They appeared in the Cuban films Rincón criollo (1950) and Bella la salvaje (1953), both by Raúl Medina. They traveled to New York and performed at the Teatro Puerto Rico, alongside the famous Benny Moré. They appeared on Cuban television programs and performed in the major cabarets of Havana, including the renowned Tropicana. In this decade they shared the stage with Ramón Veloz, Coralia Fernández, Raúl and Radeunda Lima, and their songs became popular in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. Although Reutilio died in 1971, the duo separated in 1964. From that year until 1980, Celina continued her career as a solo artist. Her popularity and presence in the media did not diminish, which contributed to her being considered a legend of guajira music. She performed with the typical ensembles Campo Alegre, Los Montunos, Los Pinares, and performed successfully in cabarets, theaters, radio, and television. Her presence, not only in peasant music programs, but on stages of various types, perpetuated in her the image of the popular guajira singer.

From 1980 onward, a new stage began in Celina González's career, as she joined with her son Lázaro Reutilio to renew the duo that had once been the source of their recognition. This was a new alignment of voices, mother and son, that aimed to offer an updated version of the duo Celina y Reutilio. They worked with the musical cast of the television program "Palmas y Cañas," dedicated to peasant music, suited to the modern ensemble format for guajira music and son montuno.

In 1984 they traveled to Bogotá, Colombia and to the Cali Fair. They performed at the Estadio Pascual Guerrero and from then on their popularity grew in the Latin American country. The cities of Cali, Palmira, Bogotá, Popayán, Pereira, Manizales, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Montería, received Celina and Reutilio during several successive years.

In this new stage, they performed successfully on European stages. In the United Kingdom the singer is known as "Queen of Cuban Country Music" and her music has been heard in Sweden, France, and Greece. In their repertoire they included not only songs from the legendary duo, but also themes by Matamoros, Ñico Saquito, Carlos Puebla, Los Compadres.

In her vast musical career, Celina González incorporated songs from the Nueva Trova, particularly by Silvio Rodríguez, and recorded with the groups Manguaré and Adalberto Álvarez y su son. In 1999, with her son, she recorded the album 50 años como una reina, nominated in 2001 for a Latin Grammy, and Prize winner at Cubadisco that same year.

Celina González's style, given by her natural grace, the force of her interpretation, and her attachment to peasant roots, has influenced Cuban interpreters and those from other latitudes. The timbre of her voice is a seal that identifies her and identifies Cuban peasant music. This is why on the Island she is called the Queen of punto guajiro.

Among her honors is the Picasso medal from the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO) and the National Music Prize.

Writer Mireya Reyes Fanjul brought to light a nine-year investigation into the life of Celina González, in the book Celina González, una historia de amor, published by Letras Cubanas in 2011. This work narrates the romantic and professional union of Celina with Reutilio Domínguez, as well as her dedication to the career of interpreter and to Cuban musical tradition.