Cruz, in her eighh decade of life and fifth decade of recording, is also hot with the young set. The warm and zesty music appeals to both younger and older audiences. Mesmerizing tumbao rhythms permeate this recording that has captivated critics and fans alike. Her collaboration with most popular Cuban danzón outfit of the time, La Sonora Mantancera, highlighted her connection to the Caribbean, the esteem Afro-Caribbean musicians held her in and cemented Mexico's love of Cuban music.Forever the innovator, the undisputed Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, has topped the charts with her 2001 CD release, La Negra Tiene Tumbao. Her relationship with Lara was undoubtedly the central one of her career, but Toña la Negra also enjoyed fruitful collaborations with other artists. "And he acknowledged that," Figueroa explains, "Not only by naming Toña 'La Negra' but also by composing a lot of music based on the black Caribbean influence on culture in Veracruz."įrom the early 1930s to the mid-50s, Toña La Negra focused on performing, making records and radio shows. Se became the vehicle for his musical exploration of the black contribution to Mexican culture. Rafael Figueroa, a Veracruz writer who wrote a book on her, says Lara found his muse in Toña. ![]() In addition to producing “Lamento Jarocho” just for her, Lara produced her renditions of “Veracruz,” “Noche Criolla,” “Oración Caribe,” “Palmera,” “La Clave Azul,” and “La Cumbancha,” all of which became enormous successes. Merely days later, he composed the trenchant ‘Lamento Jarocho’ to be recorded specifically by her as an homage to the people of her coastal hometown.įrom that point on, they began a collaboration that would last for decades. One account of their meeting tells how Lara sat transfixed upon hearing Toña for the first time as she sang his song ‘Enamorada’. Instantly, he knows he has to compose for her. Lara is amazed, overwhelmed by the power and beauty of her voice. On stage a young, vital Toña la Negra, modest, not yet very well known, comes out and begins to sing. Imagine the moment: a young talented Lara, sitting in the audience with magic emanating from his pianist fingertips. Whilst singing on the club circuit, particularly at a place called "El Retiro," that was considered the 'hip place' to listen to boleros in Mexico City, she was discovered by the star-maker of the day, radio station XEW.Īround this time, Agustín Lara heard her for the first time. In 1932, at the age of 20, she moved with her husband and child to Mexico City. She began singing as a child at informal social gatherings, with family and at church, then at music competitions and carnivals. ![]() Toña la Negra is one of Mexico's most beloved singers - an Afro-Mexican artist known for her interpretation of boleros and canciones written by Agustín Lara, who wrote "Enamorada" and "Lamento Jarocho" especially for her to sing.īorn Antonia del Carmen Peregrino Álvarez in Veracruz into a family of musicians on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, Toña received no formal musical training, but she had been gifted with a singing voice that was smooth, rich, and deep like maple syrup.
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