New York World-Telegram and the Sun newspaper. “Celia Cruz, full-length portrait, facing front, on stage.” 1962. The Library of Congress. Washington, DC. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97504385/
This primary source gives students the opportunity to visualize artist Celia Cruz during a performance. It is helpful for students to have real photographs to pair with biographies they read or research they do on historical figures. Celia Cruz’s website cites the Cuban Revolution as the reason for her decision to leave Cuba and move to the United States just a year before this photo was taken. Students could use this photograph as part of a larger inquiry into the Cuban Revolution. This photograph would also be useful in studying Latin American artists or Afro Latinx historical figures.
This photograph can help students learn about Celia Cruz and her contributions to salsa and Latin American music in general. It can also help students launch an inquiry into the history of the Cuban Revolution and reasons many people left Cuba. This photograph pairs well with the book My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/ Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown (author) and Rafael López (illustrator) . This bilingual biography explains Celia Cruz’s journey to becoming an iconic musical star. As a dual-language book, it works well in bilingual or monolingual classrooms.
In this black and white photograph from the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Celia Cruz stands on stage in a formal gown. The photographer is unknown, and the Library of Congress staff created the title. According to her website, Celia Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa,” was born in Cuba in 1925 and moved to New York City in 1961. She is remembered for her contributions to salsa music, her lively performances, bold costumes, and celebration of her Afro Latina roots.
- What is the first item you notice in this picture?
- What are you wondering about this picture?
- What do you think this woman does for a living? How do you know?
- Who does this person remind you of?
- How does a biography help us contextualize this photograph? What information does a person need to know in order to understand the historical context of this photograph?
Texas ELAR TEKS and Texas Social Studies TEKS
ELAR. 4.13(D) & (E): (D) identify primary and secondary sources; (E) demonstrate understanding of information gathered.
- Examining the photo before a read-aloud of the Celia Cruz biography helps students visualize the main subject of the biography.
ELAR.4.10(A): explain the author's purpose and message within a text.
- Students can examine the author’s purpose in taking this photograph, but they can extend to the implied purpose as to why the photo was taken and to whom it was distributed and why.
SS.4.19(B): differentiate and compare the information about a specific issue or event provided in primary and secondary sources.
- Explain to students what a primary source is and how this could have been used by the author of the biography My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz / Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz by Brown and López.
- During a unit on biographies, students could research a historical figure of their choice. Teachers could read Monica Brown’s (author) and Rafael López's (illustrator) My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz / Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz and model how nonfiction biographies can be used in researching historical figures. Students could examine photographs of Celia Cruz, such as this photo from the Library of Congress, as part of the research process. Other primary sources including audio and video recordings would be important additions to the research.
- Students could then find a biography about another historical figure and look for other primary sources as part of their research. Finally, they could present their findings in the form of a “zine” or another multimodal presentation.
- This photograph and the study of Celia Cruz could be challenged by those who do not see the value of integrating arts education or Afro Latinx history into the language arts curriculum due to personal biases or Eurocentric perspectives.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Teachers can visit this NCTE blog post by Lisa Fink for support on the importance of presenting children with diverse books. In the post, author Duncan Tonatiuh writes, “The United States is such a diverse country, and we need diverse books to reflect the different cultural experiences that children have . . . we need multicultural books so that different kinds of children can see themselves reflected in the books they read, and so that children can learn about people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.” https://ncte.org/blog/2017/09/students-right-need-read-diverse-books/#:~:text=Author%20and%20Illustrator%20Duncan%20Tonatiuh,read%2C%20and%20so%20that%20children
- This article from NEA Today offers additional guidance for those questioning the need for diverse books in the classroom. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/why-we-need-diverse-books
- Rather than showing a photograph of Cruz herself, teachers could show this photo of a mural honoring Celia Cruz in Harlem. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2024695113/
- This photograph also shows a Harlem mural of Celia Cruz, showing her importance to the city of New York. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/vrg.20489/
- This photograph shows the cover of Celia Cruz’s album Ritmo en el Corazón. Students may appreciate seeing a more recent photo of her that is not in black and white. https://www.loc.gov/item/awhbib000034/
- This Colorín Colorado article by Dr. Tracey Flores and Dr. Sandra Osorio gives an explanation of the importance of diverse books and the concept of “windows and mirrors.” It also features videos. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/why-diverse-books-matter-mirrors-and-windows
- Celia Cruz’s website includes a biography, photographs, audio recordings, and other resources. https://celiacruz.com/
- Author Monica Brown’s website gives more information on her book on Celia Cruz. http://www.monicabrown.net/books/celia.html
- The Smithsonian has photographs of Celia Cruz, her clothes, shoes, and stamps created in her honor. This page also includes a lesson plan for teachers. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/latin-music-legends-stamps/celia-cruz
- This short article by the National Park Services contains a biography of Celia Cruz that would be appropriate for upper elementary school readers. It speaks to her importance as a Black Cuban woman and musical icon. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/celia-cruz-queen-of-salsa.htm
- Fink, Lisa. “Students Have a Right and a Need to Read Diverse Books.” National Council of Teachers of English, September 27, 2018. https://ncte.org/blog/2017/09/students-right-need-read-diverse-books/#:~:text=Author%20and%20Illustrator%20Duncan%20Tonatiuh,read%2C%20and%20so%20that%20children.