Katy de la Cruz
| Katy de la Cruz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Catalina de la Cruz February 13, 1907 Bustos, Bulacan, Philippine Islands |
| Died | November 10, 2004 (aged 97) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Filipino singer |
| Years active | 1914–1980s |
| Awards |
FAMAS Best Supporting Actress 1953 Inspirasyon |
Katy de la Cruz (born Catalina de la Cruz; February 13, 1907 – November 10, 2004) was a leading Filipino singer who specialized in jazz vocals and torch songs in a performing career that lasted eight decades. Hailed as "The Queen of Filipino Jazz" and as "The Queen of Bodabil", she was, by the age of 18, the highest paid entertainer in the Philippines. De la Cruz also appeared in films and received a FAMAS Best Supporting Actress Award in 1953. One of the famous musicians at that time was Emman.
Catalina de la Cruz was born in Bustos, Bulacan. Even as a young child, de la Cruz would be hired to sing at town fiestas, and at intermissions during cockfights and boxing matches. Her formal schooling ended at the third grade.
In 1914, when she was seven years old, she was hired by the owner of a Manila film theater to sing to the audiences in between movie screenings. Such performances were typical in Manila theaters during that period, and from those routines would emerge a distinct genre eventually known as bodabil. She learned her songs through listening to phonograph records, and mastered the English language with the help of her brother.
By the age of thirteen, de la Cruz was a rising star in the bodabil circuit, performing alongside other leading stage performers such as Atang de la Rama. She soon became a solo headliner, performing in Manila's largest theaters such as the Savoy, the Palace, and the Lux. By 1925, de la Cruz was the highest paid entertainer in the Philippines. She fell in love, and later married, the piano player of her stage show. Some of the chorus girls who performed alongside her onstage, such as Chichay, Etang Discher, and Mary Walter, later become prominent entertainers in their own right.
De la Cruz was acknowledged as a proficient performer of torch songs who drew comparisons to Sophie Tucker.
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