Celia & Johnny [LP]

She is the "Queen of Salsa", he co-founder of the Fania label, which gave the starting signal for the triumphal march of salsa around the world. Cuban-American singer Celia Cruz, born in Havana in 1925 and died in New Jersey in 2003, was one of the most prominent representatives of Cuban music of the 20th century. She won a total of three Grammy Awards and four Latin Grammys.

Her grandiose rise to the limelight began in 1974 with the release of "Celia & Johnny." The Dominican Republic-born flutist Johnny Pacheco founded the Fania record label with Jerry Masucci in 1963. In 1968 at the latest, with the establishment of the house band Fania All Stars, in which the most renowned representatives of Latin American music such as Mongo Santamaria, Cheo Feliciano, Ray Barretto, Adalberto Santiago, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and, of course, Celia Cruz participated under the aegis of Pacheco, an outstanding release policy and skilful marketing, Fania advanced to become the salsa label par excellence.

Ultimately, we owe Fania the worldwide fame of the genre. The remastered reissue of "Celia & Johnny" also appears on Fania, which was brought back to life a few years ago for the reissue of highlights from the portfolio.