CELIA BLOG POST
Celia is a black latina raised in Cuba during the time of the Cuban Revolution. During this time I definitely see the tensions between the black and white latinos. It never occurred to me that Black people in Latin American countries were discriminated between color in the Hispanic culture. It made me realize that our Black culture at the time was seen as less than others across all ethnicities. However, what I appreciate about Celia is that she starts to try to break down the walls against discrimination. She essentially becomes one of the first African-Cuban Latina to be a lead singer for a very popular band.
The Cuban Revolution is going on throughout the episode and though it does affect Celia. It happens to affect Lola the most. Her father is a type of leader/mayor for the city of Havanna, Cuba. He supports the government and has many corrupt ties in the government's affairs. He controls and has a hand in the police and army of Havanna. He has so much power that he essentially covers the murder he committed of his own brother/Lola's lover. However, many Cubans noticed that the government was corrupt and began to fight for freedom in their country. The Cuban revolutionists want to kill leaders such as Lola's father and gain control of their government.
Lola is an amazing singer and is making her first singing album. Her best friend is Celia and encourages her to be the best version of herself. Lola is the step-daughter of the mayor of Havanna and the mayor kills his brother because he is madly in love with his daughter. Throughout the episode's I noticed that Lola goes through more trials and tribulations than any other character. Her mother passed away when she was young, her father molests her, her first love was murdered by her father, and she turned to cocaine to fix her problems. I noticed that although you can come from a wealthy family the wealthy still face many problems that they have to combat. I also noticed that women have to fight more than men to be noticed and heard for who they are. I can't wait to see what will happen to Lola because she may have just killed her step-father by accident.
I saved the best for last Ms. Celia Cruz is officially the new singer for the band La Soñora. She has an outstanding voice that draws people in and makes them fall in love with her. She's so innocent and makes people want to help her because she cares for everyone. She's a little shy but wants to end discrimination against her black community. The show Celia is based on the real Celia Cruz and some of her life. I did some research on her and found that she was The Queen of Salsa Music and was married to the famous Pedro Knight. Which is someone she's in love with in the show; however, she has to stay away from him because he lied to her about his identity. They work together in the band and Pedro is trying to make her fall in love with him again. She's trying to fight her love for him but finds herself slowly falling for him each day.
Celia is becoming one of my favorite shows and I can't wait to see what will happen next. The women in this show stand out to me because each one that you will encounter on the show is fighting for the rights to be heard. If it's to end discrimination, have a voice in women's suffrage, speak out against domestic abuse, and find a way to better mental health. Thanks for reading my blog!
-Ciara Sims
Wow! Before this class, I had no idea who Celia was. I was definitely missing out. This telenovela sounds really interesting, I like how it's based on Celia Cruz's story. I definitely agree with what said on how the wealthy still face so many problems. So much of the wealthy characters in these shows deal with drug addictions, corruption, and hidden secrets. Almost all telenovelas I've come across, the wealthy are much more unhappy and angrier than the characters who grew up poor. That is similar to many Korean dramas as well, like the one I'm watching. The class system and people's reputations are so fragile and anything can cause them to look lesser than within their own social sphere. Through this telenovela, do you see any improvement or progress in the way Cuba's Afro-latino community are treated, like Celia?
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