Writer, lyricist, and poet Shelley Halima was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where she currently resides. She is the author of "Azucar Moreno" and "Los Morenos." Visit her website at www.shelleyhalima.com.

I lit my fire, I greased my skillet with virgin pressed olive oil, and I cooked. Thats one of the statements Chester L. Simmons, Jr. made about his career as a Novillero/Matador in the art of bullfighting. Its really weird that it should be called bullfighting. No reasonable person would ever think of fighting a bull who has been bred to fight. Would any reasonable person think of fighting a pit bull who was bred to fight? But I have to ask, are bullfighters reasonable people?

This fascinating biography on Celia Cruz--Queen of Salsa, political exile and humanitarian--begins with her recent funeral in New York, travels back to her modest origins in Havana, and reveals how fate intervened to bring her seductive voice to the attention of millions of adoring fans.