Celia & Johnny
CELIA CRUZ      Celia Cruz had a brilliant and successful music career in her native  Cuba, where her extraordinary vocal talent and enormous popularity earned  her the nickname "The Guarechera of Cuba."    Her transcendence, however, masked an even greater ambition upon her  arrival to the United States. Beginning a new phase of her career, joining  the Fania Family, and linking her name to the great artists of the label,  she made her mark and earned herself a new title: "The Queen of Salsa." She  was also known as the "Gran SeÃ±ora" for her integrity, human condition,  and solid morals.     Her success took the form of 80 recordings that prove her magnetism, as  well as her ability to communicate through music: a rhythm and sound that  made its way to many generations who have given her their applause and  gratitude during sold-out concerts in five continents. These would give her  music a wide audience.    Celia was not only known for her vocal prowess, but for her dramatic  talents as well. She appeared in nine movies, including "Los reyes del  mambo." She also appeared in the soap operas "Valentina" and "El alma no  tiene color," both of which were filmed in Mexico.     Celia left behind a rich musical legacy, and will always reign as "La  Guarachera de Cuba," the "Gran SeÃ±ora," and the undisputed "Queen of  Salsa."CELIA CRUZ"      Celia Cruz, con una brillante y exitosa carrera musical en su Cuba  natal, donde por sus extraordinarias dotes interpretativas y gran  popularidad se ganÃ³ el apelativo de "La Guarachera de Cuba".      Pero su trascendencia le tenÃ­a reservada aÃºn, una mÃ¡s ambiciosa  proyecciÃ³n tras su llegada a Estados Unidos, e iniciar una nueva etapa en  su carrera al integrarse y formar parte de la gran Familia Fania, y unir su  nombre al de grandes figuras del sello con los que logrÃ³ imponerse y  afianzarse una vez mÃ¡s en el Ã¡mbito musical al extremo de ostentar un  nuevo tÃ­tulo: "Reina de la Salsa", sumado al que siempre la identificÃ³  como "Gran SeÃ±ora", por su integridad, condiciÃ³n humana y sÃ³lidos  principios.     Sus Ã©xitos se traducen en ochenta grabaciones editadas que dejaron  constancia de su magnetismo, de su poder para comunicar y transmitir a  travÃ©s de la mÃºsica, un ritmo y un sonido que ha trascendido a varias  generaciones que la han respaldado con el aplauso y el reconocimiento en  sus multitudinarios conciertos en los cinco continentes, que le dieran una  mÃ¡s amplia  proyecciÃ³n y divulgaciÃ³n de su mÃºsica.     Pero no solamente Celia se destacÃ³ como cantante, tambiÃ©n puso a  prueba su talento histriÃ³nico en el campo de la actuaciÃ³n como hubo de  demostrarlo participando en nueve pelÃ­culas entre ellas: "Los reyes del  mambo". En la televisiÃ³n se destacÃ³ como intÃ©rprete en las telenovelas:  "Valentina" y  "El alma no tiene color" filmadas en MÃ©xico.     Celia dejÃ³ un rico legado musical y reinarÃ¡ por siempre como "La  Guarachera de Cuba", "Gran SeÃ±ora" y "Reina" indiscutible de la Salsa.JOHNNY PACHECO      "Master" is the word to describe this multifaceted artist, whose  multiple talents as a musician, singer, composer, director, and produced  allowed him to forge the careers of many young artists who entered the  world of salsa, as well as many other consecrated stars, such as Celia  Cruz, Willie ColÃ³n, HÃ©ctor Lavoe, Pete "El Conde" RodrÃ­guez, RubÃ©n  Blades, Cheo Feliciano, and countless others who shared billing with him on  his albums.    Pacheco inherited his passion for music from his father, who was a  musician and orchestra conductor. This environment was perfect for shaping  his innate talents. At a very early age, the family moved to New York,  where Johnny attended Julliard and cultivated his talent for violin,  saxophone, and clarinet.    His career as a musician reached its peak in 1963, when he joined forces  with Jerry Masucci to create Fania Records, of which Pacheco was the CEO,  creative director, and musical producer. There, he solidified the careers  of many who are now part of the history of the "Fania Family." This was the  record label that would set the standard in Latin music and gain  unforeseeable celebrity at the international level.    Many of these achievements were the work of Johnny Pacheco, who was not  only an artist, but a visionary who knew how to bring talent to the label.  This skill was vital to the quality of his albums, both as a member of  Fania Records, and as a soloist.JOHNNY PACHECO      Maestro es el adjetivo que califica la exacta dimensiÃ³n de este  polifacÃ©tico artista cuya multiplicidad de talentos como mÃºsico,  intÃ©rprete, compositor, director y productor, le permitiÃ³ forjar la  carrera de muchas figuras jÃ³venes que incursionaron en el llamado gÃ©nero  Salsa, y otras ya consagradas como: Celia Cruz, Willie ColÃ³n, HÃ©ctor  Lavoe, Pete "El Conde" RodrÃ­guez, RubÃ©n Blades, Cheo Feliciano, entre  muchos otros que compartieron cartel en sus producciones.    Pacheco heredÃ³ de su padre, mÃºsico y director de orquesta su pasiÃ³n  por la mÃºsica.. Un ambiente muy propicio que forjÃ³ su innata vocaciÃ³n. A  muy temprana edad se trasladÃ³ con su familia a Nueva York, donde asistiÃ³  a la Escuela de MÃºsica Julliard, donde cultivÃ³ su talento aprendiendo a  tocar violÃ­n, saxofÃ³n y clarinete.       Su carrera como mÃºsico alcanza su mÃ¡xima consagraciÃ³n en 1963, al  crear con Jerry Masucci el sello discogrÃ¡fico Fania, del que fue  ejecutivo, director creativo y  productor musical que consagrÃ³ a muchas  figuras que hoy son parte de la historia de la gran "Familia Fania". El  sello disquero que marcarÃ­a pautas en la mÃºsica latina y alcanzarÃ­a  insospechada celebridad a nivel  internacional.     Muchos de estos logros se deben a Johnny Pacheco, que no solo se hizo  sentir como artista, tambiÃ©n fue un visionario que supo captar y engrosar  al sello, un selectivo talento que fue vital en la calidad de las  producciones para Ã©ste  y las suyas propias.