An affectionate tribute to a talented musician who made significant sacrifices to live her dream. BUY THIS BOOK Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyonc Knowles-Carter Edited by Veronica Chambers. Maren's stylized acrylic and collage art amplifies the text's abundant rhythm. Her name conjures more than music, it has come to be synonymous with. But perhaps that is fitting for the salsa queen. Veronica Chambers (Author) You dont need to be in the Beyhive to appreciate Beyonc.

she had met an angel who would be her companion and protector in this land so far from home'').

Chambers's lyrical narrative intermittently sounds such melodramatic notes, as when Cruz meets Pedro Knight (''Celia knew. Ten years later she left for Los Angeles and a permanent contract at the Hollywood Palladium she became an American citizen and an internationally renowned salsa singer-but she could never return to Cuba (''It was a heartache she carried her whole life through''). In high school, Cruz began singing at local clubs, concentrating on music that ''blended traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms with the flavor and folklore of the tropics.'' Newcomer Maren paints a sinuous full-bleed portrait of Cruz's first big break in 1950, when she was hired as lead singer for a popular band collage images of music notes bubble up from the brass section as the band, dressed in bolero jackets with yellow shirts, stand out against a teal background.

Neighbors gathered outside the open windows of her family home when she sang lullabies to her younger siblings (''Her voice, it was said, sent you not only to sleep, but to a nighttime land of angel dreams''). Veronica Chamberseditor of a new book on the musical geniusshares surprising truths about being a grown-ass woman straight from Queen Bey herself. Veronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir, Mamas Girl, which has been course adopted by hundreds of high schools. Chambers's (Marisol and Magdalena) poetic, at times theatrical, portrait of the famous salsa singer begins with Cruz's childhood in Havana.

Queen Bey by Veronica Chambers