Celia Cruz, in ‘Patria y Vida’ with artificial intelligence

The voice of Celia Cruz in the new version “Homeland and Life”the song, which is considered the anthem of the protests in Cuba 2021, gave the song “festivity” while still being “danceable,” said Omer Pardillo, the artist of Cuba’s most universal song.

“It was hard work, but in the end I think people succeeded.” very well received and see how it feels, the tone of his voice. I think he gave the song a twist, because ‘Patria y Vida’ is also a celebration,” Pardillo told EFE this Friday about the version of the iconic song released this week.

Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), the new version “Homeland and Life” consists of Celia Cruz and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, who join the song’s authors: Yotuel Romero, Gente De Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo (prisoner on the island since 2021) and the rapper better known as El Funky.

After a few notes of the trumpet, Celia He enters at the beginning of the song singing: “And you are my siren song/because with your voice my sorrows go away”.

According to Pardillo, it is the idea of ​​Fr Spanish singer and actress Beatriz Then her husband, Cuban singer Yotuel Romero.

“When they proposed it to me, I was afraid that people would take it the wrong way, but no, everything that comes out about the song has been very positive. Celia’s voice is there, and besides, I am convinced that I was alive, Celia I would do ‘Patria y Vida,'” he said.

Luengo and Yotuel “came as a month and a half to introduce me to the idea,” said Pardillo, who met “La guarachera de Cuba” when he was 14 and today runs the foundation that bears his name. The version “wasn’t like it is now, it was a little rougher everything and I was really impressed,” he added.

“Obviously, if I hadn’t recognized Celia Cruz’s voice there, I wouldn’t have accepted,” he added.

Earlier this year, Luengo made her film directorial debut with a documentary about the song called “Patria y Vida: The Power of Music.”

The emblematic song was awarded two awards in 2021 Latin Grammy: “Song of the Year” and “Best Urban Song.”

Pardillo feels “proud” of that Celia the public “still remembers” her, and even more so this year, when it has been twenty years since her death.

Last July, the Cuban singer recalled in shrine dedicated to the patron saint of Cuba in Miami, where the choir performed the song “Guantanamera” as a tribute on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of her death.

The “Guarachera of Cuba and the world,” as her relatives attending the tribute said, died on July 16, 2013, and in Miami the anniversary was marked in advance as the central event of the commemoration took place in New York.

Next week, according to Pardillo, a street named after Celia will be inaugurated in the city of Miami Beach.

“I’m very happy, it’s another achievement for her legacy,” Pardillo said, noting that there are already streets named after the artist in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami.

“In Havana it will be done at some point and I hope it won’t be too far. I think there, more than the street, they have to do a lot of other things,” he concluded about Celia Cruz.