The dense forest of Cuban music filled up, over the course of the 20th century, with popular musicians of the highest level, to the extent that after the 1940s, it was not very easy to stand out, especially in Havana. Those born in the “city of seduction” were joined by others from all over the island who came to try their luck. It was in that atmosphere that Celia Cruz made her debut as a young singer, eventually becoming one of the most important voices in Cuban song of the late 20th century. Celia was born in a working-class family in the Havana neighborhood of Santos Suárez. Some say she was born on Oct. 21, 1924; others say she was born four years earlier, and some say it was in 1925. Her father, Simón Díaz, was a stoker on the railroad, and her mother, Catalina Alfonso, a housewife. She was the couple’s second daughter and had three siblings: Dolores, Gladis and Barbarito. When she was still a young girl, people noticed her talent for singing. First, there were the lullabies that she learned or invented, to sing her siblings to sleep. Then, thanks to the radio, there were songs she...