Album Review / Pop

*** Celia Cruz, “Mi Vida Es Cantar,” RMM. Cruz’s previous studio effort teamed her up with Miami producer Willie Chirino for the most frigid-sounding album of her career. This time, with New York wizard Isidro Infante on board, the Queen of Salsa sounds as warm and authentic as ever, whether she is admonishing a fellow comadre to drop her abusive man or taking an unexpected stab at the merengue beat. The nostalgic ode to Cuba “Siento la Nostalgia de Palmeras” encapsulates Cruz’s charm: torrid, dark and maternal at once.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).