This week, I’ve had Celia Cruz y La Sonora Matancera’s song ” Cao Cao, Mani Picao” #OnRepeat. Even though I’ve been listening to Celia’s music since before I can remember, I first heard this song specifically while watching the show, Celia, a Spanish-language mini-series based on the life of Cuban singer, Celia Cruz.
I’ve written about Celia Cruz before, but for those who still aren’t familiar with her, she is a singer from Cuba who was known for her powerful, wide-ranged voice. She became famous when she replaced the lead singer of Cuba’s conjunto, La Sonora Matancera. Her rhythmic, highly improvisational performance style led her to win several Grammys and record dozens of albums, becoming known internationally as the “Queen of Salsa.” Some of her most well-known songs are “La Negra Tiene Tumbao,””Bembe Colora,” “Quimbara,” and ” La Vida Es Un Carnaval.”
Although as a young girl, I grew up listening to Celia’s albums that she recorded with Fania and her albums right before her death, the music that she made with La Sonora Matancera truly impresses me. The musical arrangement for the band was simple, yet the way in which they and Celia performed each song while recording was so musically tasteful. The same can be said of this song, “Cao Cao, Mani Picao.” Celia’s delivery of the melody is funky (in a good way), and in some of her guias, she sounds similar to a horn player during a solo. Her powerful, piercing voice cuts through the band and she weaves in and out of the melody with ease. I’m not sure of what kind of music Celia was listening to, both consciously and unconsciously at the time, but the melodic phrases that she chooses to use throughout the song are similar to what you would hear in Jazz and Blues standards. It may just be what my own ear has grown accustomed to recognizing, but these notes and phrases make Celia’s and La Sonora Matancera’s performance truly unique from other bands, both in Latin music and other genres.
Take a listen below:
Do you know any singers or groups that you can’t stop listening to? Leave a comment below!