''Celia'' is a Spanish-language

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

produced by

Fox Telecolombia TIS S.A. (also known as The Independent Studios and formerly known as Fox Telecolombia and TeleColombia S.A.) is a major Colombian television production company in Spanish, founded in 1995 as the ''programadora'' Producciones Bernardo Romero ...

for

RCN Televisión RCN Televisión, branded as Canal RCN (''Radio Cadena Nacional'') is a Colombian free-to-air television network. It is a Colombian open television channel, belonging to the Ardila Lülle Organization. It was founded as a television content produ ...

and

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

which is based on the life of Cuban singer

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

. The telenovela's theme "

La Negra Tiene Tumbao ''La Negra Tiene Tumbao'' (English: ''The Black Woman's Got Style'') is the 59th album recorded by Cuban salsa recording artist Celia Cruz. It was released by Sony Music on 2 October 2001. It featured musical collaborations with Mikey Perfecto an ...

" received an award for Television Theme Song of the Year, at the 2016 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards.

Plot

''Celia'' tells the story of one of the legends of Latin music and her major international career:

. We know the beginnings of her passion for singing in Cuba starting in 1950, and her recognition as the most decisive singer of

La Sonora Matancera La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...

. Leaving Cuba with her future husband

Pedro Knight Pedro Knight Caraballo (September 30, 1921 – February 3, 2007) was a Cuban musician, and the husband and manager of singer Celia Cruz. Early life Pedro Knight Caraballo was born September 30, 1921.Steward, Sue (February 1, 2007)" Pedro Knight" ...

, a trumpeter with La Sonora Matancera, the series follows her departure from Cuba to Mexico soon after the

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

revolution took control of the island in 1959. The series then showcases her subsequent move to New York City, and follows her early days there, and then how her career conquered markets in other languages as she became one of the most recognized

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

singers of all time. She honored the musical genre with her signature phrase "Azucar" (Sugar). The series showcases her love and longing for her Cuban country, always hoping that a positive change would come during her lifetime. Celia Cruz has become an invaluable legacy in the world in which she was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa", "La Guarachera de Cuba", as well as "The Queen of Latin Music."

Cast

Main

Jeimy Osorio Jeirmarie "Jeimy" Osorio Rivera (born December 22, 1988) is a Puerto Rican actress and singer. Best known for telenovelas: ''Una Maid en Manhattan'', '' Porque el amor manda'', ''Santa Diabla Santa Diabla (literally: ''Holy Devil'', English ...

as Young Celia CruzMusic artist Patricia Padilla would provide vocal voiceover for the eighty songs featured in the soap opera. Padilla remained un-credited for her participation in the soap opera however would be listed in the after credits."¿Quién canta realmente en ‘Celia’, la novela? – Tropicana Bogotá"
. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2017. *

Aymée Nuviola Aymée Regla Nuviola Suárez (Havana, Cuba, January 8, 1973) is a Cuban singer, pianist, composer and actress, nicknamed "La Sonera del Mundo". She is also known for having played Celia Cruz in the Colombian telenovela Celia. She won a Grammy A ...

* Modesto Lacén as Young Pedro Knight * Willy Denton as

* Carolina Gaitán as Young Lola Calvo *

Abel Rodríguez Abel Rodríguez Ramírez (1 January 1971 – 15 October 2021) was a Cuban actor. He was married to the Colombian actress Anna Lopez with whom he has a son named Benjamin. Television role * 2015 Celia ... Eliecer Calvo * 2010 El Clon ... Enri ...

as Eliécer Calvo * Margoth Velásquez as Ollita Alfonso * Aida Bossa as Young Noris Alfonso *

Luciano D'Alessandro Luciano D'Alessandro González (born January 24, 1977 in Anzoátegui,Venezuela) is a Venezuelan actor and model known for his work in various telenovelas. Biography Luciano D'Alessandro was born on January 24, 1977 in the Venezuelan State of A ...

as Young Alberto Blanco *

Jonathan Islas Jonathan Christian Islas Porras best known as Jonathan Islas (born on November 15, 1979, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican actor mainly known for his roles in various telenovelas. Career He started his acting career in theatrical shows in ...

as Young Mario Agüero * Brenda Hanst as Ana Alfonso * José Narváez as René Neira * Alberto Pujol as Rogelio Martínez *

Indhira Serrano Indhira Rosa Serrano Redondo (born 27 January 1976)) is a Colombian actress and model. She has appeared in several telenovelas on Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network o ...

as Myrelys Bocanegra * Jorge Cárdenas as Caíto * Michel Guillo as Gamaliel "Gamita" Alfonso * Moisés Angulo as Simón Cruz *

Marcela Gallego Marcela Gallego (born October 4, 1971) is a Colombian actress, born in Tunja. Most of her work has been in Colombian telenovelas including '' Celia'', some of which have appeared in the U.S. She is also known for acting in the film ''Satanás''. S ...

as Lola Calvo * Ivette Zamora as Noris Alfonso * José Rojas as Alberto Blanco * Mauricio Mauad as Mario Agüero

Recurring

* Carolina Sabino as

Myrta Silva Myrta Silva (September 11, 1927 – December 2, 1987) was a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and television producer who was known affectionately as "La Gorda de Oro". She rose to fame in 1949 as the lead vocalist for the Cuban ensemble Sonora ...

* Diana Wiswell as Young Raquel Moreno * Claudia De Hoyos as Raquel Moreno * Carlos Vesga as Billy Echaverría *

Juan Alfonso Baptista Juan Alfonso Baptista Díaz (born 9 September 1976) is a Venezuelan-Colombian actor and model best known for his roles in ''Pasión de Gavilanes'' and '' La Mujer En El Espejo''. Biography Juan Alfonso Baptista attended elementary school at Col ...

as Ramón Cabrera * Félix Antequera as Commander Fidel * Luis Gerado Lopez as Commander Lilo Candela * Mauricio Mejía as Commander Juan *

Mijail Mulkay Mijail Mulkay Bordon (born April 20, 1974 in Cuba) is a Cuban actor. Television * CELIA: La vida de Celia Cruz - Tico Fuentes (Tito Puente) (2015) *Voltea pa' que te Enamores - Mateo (2014) *En otra piel - Soler Hernández (2014) *'' Cosita L ...

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

* Bárbaro Marín as Rolando Laserie * Laura Peñuela as Rita Laserie * Andrés Echavarria as Larry Harlow * Jean Phillipe Laurent as

Jerry Masucci Gerald "Jerry" Masucci (October 7, 1934 – December 21, 1997) was an American attorney, businessman and was co-founder of Fania Records. Biography Masucci was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian immigrant parents Urbano and Elvira Masucci. He w ...

* Luis Eduardo Arango as

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer who in the 1970s became one of the leading exponents of salsa as well in t ...

* Victor Gómez as Willie Colon * Andy Caicedo as Oscarito * Ariel Díaz as

Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It migh ...

* Adrián Makalá as Ralphi Note(s)

Broadcast and audience

The series originally aired from 5 October 2015 to 5 February 2016 in Colombia on

. The series aired on

from 13 October 2015 until 8 February 2016. In

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, the series premiered with 13.3 of rating, exceeding the program '' La Voz Kids Colombia''. His final chapter by

Caracol Televisión Caracol Televisión (known as Caracol and previously as Canal Caracol) is a Colombian free-to-air television network owned by Caracol Medios, a unit of Grupo Valorem. It is one of the leading private TV networks in Colombia, alongside Canal RCN ...

only got a total of 8.3 rating. In the United States the series debuted with 2.38 million viewers.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Celia'' official website on Telemundo

''Celia'' official website on RCN Televisión
{{RCN Telenovelas Spanish-language telenovelas Colombian telenovelas Telemundo telenovelas Spanish-language American telenovelas RCN Televisión telenovelas 2015 Colombian television series debuts 2015 American television series debuts 2015 telenovelas 2016 Colombian television series endings 2016 American television series endings Television series based on singers and musicians Television shows set in Bogotá Television shows set in Cartagena, Colombia