Eternos

Fourteen years ago Saena appeared, the self-titled album by a group formed at that time by José Luis Fernández Ledesma (guitars, Rhodes piano, synthesizer), Margarita Botello (voice, piano, accordion, percussion), Alejandro Sánchez (ex-Decibel, ex-Nazca , on acoustic and electric violin), Hugo Santos (grand stick, fretless bass and loops) and Adrián Zárate (drums).

With her powerful pipes, stunning showmanship, and superhuman sense of timing, Celia Cruz defined her chosen genre like few other performers in the history of popular music. EXITOS ETERNOS is a collection of tracks the "Queen of Salsa" recorded during the last decade of her life that, despite the vocalist's advanced age, clearly show Cruz's talents never wavered. Known for her uncompromising attitude and refusal to sing in English, Cruz valued aesthetic purity, but never became a museum piece. A driving pulse and rhythmic toasting that recall dancehall reggae propel her 2001 hit "La Negra Tiene Tumbao," and other tracks feature subtle synthesizer textures. Unlike lesser artists, however, Cruz is able to incorporate these disparate sonic colors seamlessly, making them sound as traditional as a conga drum or guiro. Of course, the unrelenting force behind each recording is Cruz's astounding voice, the sheer energy of which makes even these later recordings sound both classic and utterly contemporary.