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Craft Latino Announces Year-Long Centennial Celebration for Celia Cruz
Campaign Will Honor The Legendary Singer Throughout 2025 With Vinyl And Digital Reissues, Playlists, Video Content And More
Los Angeles, CA (January 2025)—Craft Latino proudly ushers in the centennial of the larger-than-life Celia Cruz, with a year-long celebration. Throughout 2025, “The Queen of Salsa” will be honored with a series of vinyl and digital reissues, playlists, video content and more. To kick off the celebration, Son con guaguancó will return to vinyl for the first time since its 1966 release and debut on hi-res digital platforms. Recorded shortly before the singer found global fame, the album showcases Cruz’s versatility as an artist, while speaking to her experience as an immigrant in the U.S.
Arriving March 7th and available for pre-order, the album features “Bemba colorá,” plus favorites like “Oye mi consejo,” “Se me perdió la cartera” and the title track, Son con guaguancó. Delivering the highest-quality listening experience, the LP was mastered from its original analog tapes by Clint Holley at Well Made Music, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in a replica of its classic jacket. Music collectors can also find a “Bemba Colorá Red” 180-gram color vinyl variant (limited to 300 copies), with a bundle option that includes a Tico Records T-shirt, at Fania.com. Additionally, Son con guaguancó will make its debut across digital platforms in 192/24 hi-res audio.
An internationally beloved singer, whose ever-evolving, five-decade-long career spanned a multitude of styles and eras, Celia Cruz (1925–2003) lives on as one of Latin music’s most revered icons. Born in Havana with a passion for music, Cruz sang, studied her craft and performed at every opportunity throughout her youth. Her big break arrived in 1950 when she joined the long-running, hugely popular group La Sonora Matancera. With the band, Cruz found stardom across Latin America, thanks to high-profile tours, hit records and several cameos in films. But in 1960, amid the Cuban Revolution, everything changed.
Cruz left her country—first relocating to Mexico City, where she had an established following, and then settling in New York City. While Cruz continued to perform with La Sonora Matancera for several years after moving to the U.S., the singer (known then as “The Guarachera of Cuba”) soon embarked on a solo career, releasing Cuba y Puerto Rico son…—her first of many collaborative albums with celebrated bandleader Tito Puente—in 1966. Months later, she made her official solo debut with Son con guaguancó.
![Celia Cruz: Son Con Guaguancó [album cover]](https://i0.wp.com/latinjazznet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Celia-Cruz-Son-Con-Guaguanco-740.jpg?resize=740%2C740&ssl=1)
Released via Puente’s label, Tico Records, Son con guaguancó found Cruz at a defining moment in her personal and artistic journey. The album, notes NPR, is “an artifact of Cruz’s life in transition—from Cuba to exile in the United States, and from obscurity behind institutional barriers to international fame. On the cusp of international stardom, the Cruz who recorded this album is at once a girl in Cuba’s countryside, set firmly in the day-to-day landscape and concerns of el campo, as well as a burgeoning star, transplanting these minutiae among the tumultuous United States of 1966.”
That sense of blended identity was also reflected in Cruz’s music, as she fused an array of genres. The album’s title, which combined the names of two popular styles—the Afro-Cuban son montuno and the faster-paced guaguancó rhythms—further reinforced the concept. Helping Cruz imagine the album was legendary producer Al Santiago (founder of the pioneering label Alegre Records), as well as a star-studded line-up of arrangers, including Tito Puente, Charlie Palmieri, Bobby Valentín and Louie Ramírez. The singer was backed by some of the best musicians in the genre—all of whom were members of the foundational collective Alegre All Stars.
Among the album’s memorable tracks is the upbeat opener, “Bemba colorá,” a self-affirming guaracha mambo (featuring Puente on the timbales) which became an early hit for the singer. Other highlights include the joyful “Son con guaguancó”and “Oye mi consejo”(“Hear My Advice”), a lighthearted guajira-style song, in which Cruz asserts that people should heed her advice—or else they won’t reach old age. The fanciful “El cohete,” meanwhile, is a cha-cha-cha about traveling to the moon. Cruz also takes a more serious tone on the album—particularly through songs like “Se me perdió la cartera” (“I Lost My Purse”), a breakneck guaracha mambo, in which she sings about the frustrations of rebuilding her life as an immigrant. Similarly, Cruz laments the state of the world in the bolero “Es la humanidad.”
While Son con guaguancó saw respectable sales, it would pale in comparison to her later titles. In the years following her debut, Cruz’s profile skyrocketed. With the rise of salsa in the ’70s, Cruz dominated the Latin charts, scoring several Gold records and countless hits, beginning with 1974’s Celia & Johnny—her first of several collaborative titles alongside Fania Records co-founder Johnny Pacheco. Son con guaguancó, however, opened the door to those successes and, nearly 60 years after its release, continues to inspire.
Including the album in their “150 Greatest Albums Made by Women” round-up, NPR called Son con guaguancó “A cultural and historical artifact as Cruz’s first quiet defiance in Cuban America.” AllMusic praised that the album “Positively sizzles with heat and energy. With tight arrangements, a crack group behind her, and no down-tempo material in sight, Cruz lets it all out, while the sections (brass, wind, percussion) follow her every move and inject more energy between the lines.” Ranked No. 8 in “Los 600 de Latinoamérica” (a countdown of the 600 best Latin albums of all time) Son con guaguancó was hailed as “Una obra fundamental en la carrera de la Reina de la Salsa… [y] un testimonio de la versatilidad y el talento inigualable de Celia Cruz.” (“A seminal work in The Queen of Salsa’s career… [and] a testament to Celia Cruz’s versatility and unmatched talent.”)
Cruz, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 77, left behind a mighty legacy—one that extended far beyond her five-decade-long career. Today, she is remembered as one of the most influential Latin artists of all time and, having sold over 10 million records, remains one of the most popular Latin singers of the 20th century. Throughout the years, the seven-time GRAMMY® winner has been honored with numerous awards, exhibits, commemorative stamps, samples by major artists and tributes, including a posthumous GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Medal of the Arts, a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1987) and inductions into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame (1994) and the International Latin Music Hall of Fame (1999), among others. Last year, Cruz became the first Afro-Latina to appear on U.S. currency through the American Women’s Quarter Program.
Tracklist :
Side A: 1. Bemba colorá; 2. Son con guaguancó; 3. Es la humanidad; 4. Lo mismo si que no; 5. Oye mi consejo; 6. Se me perdió la cartera.
Side B: 1. Tremendo guaguancó; 2. Permíteme; 3. No hay manteca; 4. El cohete; 5. La adivinanza; 6. Amarra la yegua.
*Digital tracklist mirrors the vinyl.
About Fania:
Highly influential, both musically and culturally, Fania Records spread the sound of salsa music from the clubs of New York City to the rest of the world and became a revered global brand in the process. Fania’s master recording catalog is the definitive home for genres such as Latin big band, Afro-Cuban jazz, boogaloo, salsa and Latin R&B and includes artistic giants such as Celia Cruz, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades. With the creation of the international supergroup known as the Fania All-Stars, the label’s signature musical style became known as the “Fania Sound.” Fania’s rich master catalog also includes the Pete Rodriguez’s boogaloo classic “I Like It Like That” which was sampled by Cardi B in her #1 hit “I Like It.” Additionally, three Fania Recordings, Celia & Johnny by Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco, Azucar Pa’ Ti by Eddie Palmieri and Live at Yankee Stadium by the Fania All-Stars, appear in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.”
About Craft Latino:
Craft Latino is home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of Latin music master recordings and compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, Pepe Aguilar, Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Ray Barretto, La Lupe, Ruben Blades and the Fania All Stars, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Musart , Fania, TH, Panart, West Side Latino and Kubaney, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation, ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover.
Craft Latino is the Latin repertoire arm of Craft Recordings. The catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com.
Brazilian mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda opens a new creative chapter with Nova, a wide-ranging album that brings the traditions of Brazilian instrumental music into conversation with contemporary jazz and sounds from Africa, India, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Released by Sony Music Brasil on May 20, 2026, the 14-track, 56-minute recording was produced by de Holanda and Marcos Portinari. Recorded in different parts of the world, Nova draws inspiration from the people, places and musical encounters that have marked de Holanda’s extensive travels.
At the heart of the album is the Hamilton de Holanda Trio: de Holanda on 10-string mandolin, Salomão Soares on keyboards and synthesizers, and Thiago “Big” Rabello on drums. Their six-year musical partnership gives the project its central identity, balancing rhythmic precision, melodic freedom and intuitive ensemble interaction.
The trio is joined by an impressive international cast that includes Indian sitarist Anoushka Shankar, French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, Cuban percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martínez, Angolan singer-songwriter Paulo Flores and Brazilian percussion legend Paulinho da Costa. Other guests include Pedro Martins, Michael Pipoquinha, Pretinho da Serrinha, Mestra Zélia do Prato and Larissa Umaytá.
Opening with “Nova Alvorada,” the album imagines a new dawn rooted in African and Afro-Brazilian traditions. Pedrito Martínez contributes vocals and percussion, Michael Pipoquinha adds electric bass, and singers Tatiana Parra, Vanessa Moreno and Dani Gurgel form the supporting chorus.
Elsewhere, “Som de Baile” channels the energy of Brazilian dance bands, drawing upon the spirit of Banda Black Rio, Jorge Ben Jor and Gilberto Gil. “Frio Lá Fora,” composed during a bitterly cold stay in New York, features Maalouf and Pretinho da Serrinha, while “Pras Crianças” combines an ijexá-based foundation with the resonant sound of Shankar’s sitar. “Luanda (Unidos)” creates a bridge to Angolan semba through the voice and text of Paulo Flores.
Among the album’s most reflective compositions is “Mono no Aware,” which has received an official visualizer. Written by de Holanda and Soares, its title comes from a Japanese expression describing an awareness of life’s impermanence—and the realization that beauty becomes more meaningful because it is temporary.
Recorded at producer and engineer Mario Caldato Jr.’s Los Angeles studio, the piece features Paulinho da Costa on percussion and Pedro Martins on guitar alongside the trio. The gathering connects three generations of Brazilian musicians in a performance that is sophisticated, spacious and emotionally restrained.
The visualizer complements the composition’s contemplative character through imagery evoking delicacy, transition and constant transformation. Rather than presenting a literal storyline, it creates an intimate visual environment in which the music’s mixture of quiet joy and underlying sadness can unfold. The official visualizer is available through Hamilton de Holanda’s YouTube channel.
Now entering his sixth decade, de Holanda remains one of Brazilian instrumental music’s most innovative figures. By expanding the traditional eight-string bandolim into a 10-string instrument, he developed a broader harmonic and melodic vocabulary that has allowed him to move naturally among choro, samba, jazz and global musical traditions.
With Nova, that spirit of invention is guided by gratitude, generosity and an enduring belief in music’s ability to connect people. Tradition and experimentation are not treated as opposites; they become complementary parts of a living musical language.
As de Holanda explains, creating original music with such an extraordinary community of artists is his way of affirming that, regardless of the world’s uncertainties, “the music will continue.”
Nova — Complete Track Listing
1. Nova Alvorada — Hamilton de Holanda
2. Presente pra Sempre — Hamilton de Holanda
3. Nasci — Hamilton de Holanda
4. Som de Baile — Hamilton de Holanda
5. Mono no Aware — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares
6. Frio Lá Fora — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
7. Carrossel — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
8. Pras Crianças — Hamilton de Holanda
9. Luanda (Unidos) — Hamilton de Holanda
10. Por Essa Eu Não Esperava — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
11. Forrozin de Mestra Zélia — Hamilton de Holanda
12. Choro Fado — Hamilton de Holanda
13. Sol da Noite — Hamilton de Holanda
14. Até Amanhã — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares
Album Credits
Hamilton de Holanda Trio
Hamilton de Holanda: 10-string mandolin
Salomão Soares: keyboards, synthesizers and Moog
Thiago “Big” Rabello: drums and percussion
Guest Artists and Additional Musicians
“Nova Alvorada”
Pedrito Martínez — percussion and vocals
Michael Pipoquinha — bass
Tatiana Parra — backing vocals
Vanessa Moreno — backing vocals
Dani Gurgel — backing vocals
“Nasci”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement
“Som de Baile”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement
Larissa Umaytá — percussion
“Mono no Aware”
Paulinho da Costa — percussion
Pedro Martins — guitar
“Frio Lá Fora”
Ibrahim Maalouf — trumpet
Pretinho da Serrinha — percussion
“Pras Crianças”
Anoushka Shankar — sitar
Leander Motta — moringa percussion
“Luanda (Unidos)”
Paulo Flores — voice and spoken text
“Forrozin de Mestra Zélia”
Mestra Zélia do Prato — voice
Production
Producers: Hamilton de Holanda and Marcos Portinari
Executive producer and editing engineer: Marcos Portinari
Assistant producer: Fellipe Cabral
Mixing: Thiago Rabello and Da Pá Virada
Mastering: André Dias
Assistant engineer: Vitor Nery
Photography: Nando Chagas
Label: Sony Music Brasil
Release date: May 20, 2026
Format: Digital album
Duration: Approximately 56 minutes
Craft Latino will reissue Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe’s landmark 1969 album, Cosa Nuestra, on September 25, bringing one of salsa’s most influential recordings back to vinyl and CD. The new edition pays tribute to the late Willie Colón while celebrating an album that helped define the sound, image, and cultural force of New York salsa.
The vinyl edition has been mastered entirely in the analog domain and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. A limited Metallic Blue pressing, restricted to 300 copies, will also be available through Fania, either separately or bundled with a retro-logo T-shirt. A newly remastered version of the album is already available on digital platforms in standard and high-resolution audio.
Colón and Lavoe began working together in the mid-1960s after meeting at Fania Records. Colón was only 16, while Lavoe was 21. Their 1967 debut, El Malo, introduced an unusually compelling partnership: Colón’s raw, trombone-driven arrangements combined with Lavoe’s distinctive phrasing, streetwise personality, and exceptional command of the sonero tradition.
Following The Hustler and Guisando, the duo moved beyond the boogaloo sound that dominated much of the era and began developing the tougher, more sophisticated musical language that would become closely associated with salsa. Their fourth album, Cosa Nuestra—“Our Thing”—marked the moment when all the elements came together.
The album’s now-iconic cover reinforced the gangster imagery established on their earlier recordings, portraying Colón as a mobster preparing to dispose of a body near the Hudson River. The theatrical concept was more than a marketing device. It reflected the rebellious identity, urban atmosphere, and youthful attitude that made Colón and Lavoe central figures in the emerging Nuyorican music scene.
Produced by Jerry Masucci and overseen by Fania co-founder Johnny Pacheco, Cosa Nuestra introduced a revitalized ensemble featuring trombonist Eric Matos, timbalero Little Louie Romero, conguero Milton Cardona, bongó player José Mangual Jr., bassist Santi González, and pianist Professor Joe Torres.
Its songs offered vivid portraits of barrio life, betrayal, romantic disappointment, and everyday conflict. “Te conozco” focuses on a familiar neighbourhood freeloader, while “Tú no puedes conmigo” addresses the sting of a friend’s disloyalty. “Juana Peña” tells the story of a woman known for deceiving her lovers who eventually experiences heartbreak herself.
The bolero-son “Ausencia” gives Lavoe one of the album’s most emotionally resonant performances, expressing the anguish of a man unable to escape the memory of a failed relationship. In contrast, “Sonero mayor” celebrates improvisation and the art of soneo, one of Lavoe’s defining gifts.
The album’s greatest commercial success came with “Ché ché colé,” inspired by an African children’s game. Blending African and Caribbean rhythmic traditions, the infectious recording reached an international audience, helped propel Colón and Lavoe to stardom, and contributed to Cosa Nuestra becoming their first gold-selling album in the United States.
More than five decades later, Cosa Nuestra remains a cornerstone of salsa. Its combination of musical sophistication, Afro-Caribbean roots, urban storytelling, and unmistakable New York attitude established a model that shaped the genre throughout the 1970s. This reissue offers longtime admirers and new listeners an opportunity to rediscover the album in a format worthy of its enduring historical importance. Pre-Order Now!
Craft Latino is celebrating the legacy of Puerto Rican singer and composer Chamaco Ramírez with the first vinyl reissue of Alive and Kicking, his acclaimed 1979 solo debut. Originally released by Inca Records and unavailable on vinyl for more than 45 years, the album will return on September 18, 2026, in conjunction with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Although Alive and Kicking was Ramírez’s only album as a solo artist, the nine-song recording remains a powerful demonstration of his talents as a sonero, songwriter and bandleader. The album includes enduring favourites such as “San Agustín,” “Adivínalo” and “Así son Bongó,” supported by an exceptional ensemble of musicians from the New York salsa scene.
The new 180-gram pressing was produced using an all-analog process. Dave Polster and Clint Holley of Well Made Music cut the lacquers directly from the original master tapes, preserving the energy and clarity of Ramírez’s voice and the album’s richly arranged instrumentation. A limited-edition Rumba Amarilla pressing, restricted to 300 copies, will also be available through Fania, either separately or as part of a bundle with a collectible Inca Records T-shirt. The newly remastered album is already available digitally in standard and high-resolution audio.
Born in Puerto Rico in 1941, Ramírez emerged as one of salsa’s most admired improvisational singers. He was only 16 when he joined Tommy Olivencia y Su Orquesta as co-lead vocalist alongside Paquito Guzmán. During his 13 years with the orchestra, Ramírez appeared on eight albums and developed a reputation for his command of the sonero tradition and his ability to create spontaneous verses.
Ramírez also performed with the Alegre All Stars and Kako y Su Orquesta before leaving Olivencia’s band in 1976 and relocating to New York. Three years later, he recorded Alive and Kicking for Inca Records, a Fania subsidiary. The album was produced by Cuban pianist and arranger Javier Vázquez, widely recognized for his association with La Sonora Matancera.
The program opens with “San Agustín,” a memorable son montuno composed by Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso. The song pays tribute to the working-class San Agustín community in San Juan’s Puerta de Tierra district. Ramírez then turns toward New York’s urban rumba tradition with an updated version of Cuban percussionist Justi Barreto’s “Rumba moderna.”
Among the album’s most popular selections is Ramírez’s own “Adivínalo,” an upbeat composition whose spirited delivery contrasts with its controversial references to drug use. “Así son Bongó,” written by Cuban composer Joseíto Fernández, is another highlight. Its story of an incarcerated man mourning a forgotten romance is transformed by Ramírez and the orchestra into an energetic guaguancó designed for dancers.
The album’s formidable personnel includes trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, bassist Elpidio Vázquez Jr., percussionist and vocalist Jorge Maldonado, saxophonists Manolín González and Mario Rivera, and percussionists Alberto Valdés, Edgar López and Mike Collazo. Adalberto Santiago and Tito Allen strengthen the coro, while producer Javier Vázquez also contributes on piano.
The memorable cover, designed by Ron Levine, depicts Ramírez emerging from a coffin into a beam of sunlight—a visual interpretation of the title that later acquired tragic significance. Ramírez was killed by gun violence in 1983 at the age of 41.
More than four decades later, Alive and Kicking remains a vital salsa recording and a lasting testament to Chamaco Ramírez’s commanding voice, improvisational brilliance and enduring artistic legacy. Pre-Order Now.
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