Celia is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by Fox Telecolombia for RCN Televisión and Telemundo which is based on the life of Cuban singer Celia Cruz. The telenovela's theme "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" received an award for Television Theme Song of the Year, at the 2016 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards.
Contents
Plot
Celia tells the story of one of the legends of Latin music and her major international career: Celia Cruz. 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. Leaving Cuba with her future husband Pedro Knight, a trumpeter with La Sonora Matancera, the series follows her departure from Cuba to Mexico soon after the Castro 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 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 as Young Celia Cruz
Aymée Nuviola as Celia Cruz
Modesto Lacén as Young Pedro Knight
Willy Denton as Pedro Knight
Carolina Gaitán as Young Lola Calvo
Abel Rodríguez as Eliécer Calvo
Margoth Velásquez as Ollita Alfonso
Aida Bossa as Young Noris Alfonso
Luciano D'Alessandro as Young Alberto Blanco
Jonathan Islas as Young Mario Agüero
Brenda Hanst as Ana Alfonso
José Narváez as René Neira
Alberto Pujol as Rogelio Martínez
Indhira Serrano as Myrelys Bocanegra
Jorge Cárdenas as Caíto
Michel Guillo as Gamaliel "Gamita" Alfonso
Moisés Angulo as Simón Cruz
Marcela Gallego as Lola Calvo
Ivette Zamora as Noris Alfonso
José Rojas as Alberto Blanco
Mauricio Mauad as Mario Agüero
Recurring
Carolina Sabino as Myrta Silva
Diana Wiswell as Young Raquel Moreno
Claudia De Hoyos as Raquel Moreno
Carlos Vesga as Billy Echaverría
Juan Alfonso Baptista as Ramón Cabrera
Félix Antequera as Commander Fidel
Luis Gerado Lopez as Commander Lilo Candela
Mauricio Mejía as Commander Juan
Mijail Mulkay as Tito Puente
Bárbaro Marín as Rolando Laserie
Laura Peñuela as Rita Laserie
Andrés Echavarria as Larry Harlow
Jean Phillipe Laurent as Jerry Masucci
Luis Eduardo Arango as Johnny Pacheco
Victor Gómez as Willie Colon
Andy Caicedo as Oscarito
Ariel Díaz as Prado
Adrián Makalá as Ralphi
Note(s)
Broadcast and audience
The series originally aired from 5 October 2015 to 5 February 2016 in Colombia on RCN Televisión. The series aired on Telemundo from 13 October 2015 until 8 February 2016.
In Colombia, the series premiered with 13.3 of rating, exceeding the program La Voz Kids Colombia. His final chapter by Caracol Televisión only got a total of 8.3 rating. In the United States the series debuted with 2.38 million viewers.