12 July 30 - August 5, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Yo viviré Celia Cruz’s voice is entering the AI era, but her estate says her music never will. BY CARLOS OMAR GARDINET P icture this: It’s 2045. A group of elementary school students wanders through a museum ex- hibit dedicated to Celia Cruz. As they stop in front of one of her dazzling stage gowns, the Queen of Salsa be- gins telling them its story herself — not through an actor, not through a narrator, but in the unmistakable warmth and cadence of her own voice. It sounds like science fiction. Instead, it’s the future Omer Pardillo has spent years try- ing to imagine. The longtime manager, closest confidant, and executor of Cruz’s estate believes artifi- cial intelligence can help preserve one of Latin music’s most recognizable voices long after those who experienced her in person are gone. But only if it’s done with the same care and integrity that defined her life. That’s the thinking behind the Celia Cruz Estate’s new partnership with ElevenLabs, the AI audio company that has developed an officially licensed digital version of Cruz’s speaking voice. The technology won’t be used to create new songs or resurrect perfor- mances. Instead, the estate envisions educa- tional and cultural projects — from narrating museum exhibits to reading children’s books — that allow future generations to hear Cruz tell her own story. “I was impressed with what ElevenLabs did with Maya Angelou,” Pardillo tells New Times. “The voice sounds just like Celia. This was a very meticulous process, but Celia is an icon, and this endeavor needs to be treated as such.” Almost immediately after the partnership was announced, it raised the kinds of ques- tions that increasingly accompany AI projects involving artists who are no longer alive. Should technology recreate the voices of cul- tural icons? Where is the line between pres- ervation and exploitation? Who decides how those voices are used? For Pardillo, the answer begins with purpose. The estate’s goal isn’t to create a digital performer. It’s to preserve Cruz’s voice as a historical and cultural resource that allows future generations to experience her person- ality beyond her recordings. “People need to understand that this is about education and culture,” reinforces Pardillo. “We’re not cre- ating new songs or trying to reinvent Celia. The goal is to let future generations hear her tell her own story in her own voice.” That philosophy reflects a broader mission Pardillo has embraced since Cruz died in 2003. Rather than chasing novelty, he has spent more than two decades carefully expanding her legacy while protecting the authenticity that made her one of Latin music’s most beloved figures. His stewardship has included overseeing the Forever Celia museum exhibition, help- ing guide Cruz to become the first Spanish- language artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, celebrating her selection as the first Afro-Latina honored on a U.S. quarter, and continuing the work of the Celia Cruz Foundation, which provides scholarships for underserved students pursuing music. Artificial intelligence, he says, is simply another chapter in that work. That philosophy is rooted in a relation- ship that spans most of Pardillo’s life. He first crossed paths with Cruz as a teenager before eventually becoming her publicist, personal manager, and, after her death, the executor en- trusted with protect- ing her legacy. “Celia trusted me,” he says. “Because of that trust, every decision we make has to pro- tect who she was. We approve everything. No one can simply access her voice and use it however they want. We’re being very de- liberate and very careful.” That care extended to the technology it- self. One of the biggest surprises during de- velopment wasn’t whether AI could replicate Cruz’s voice, but which version of her voice it captured. “The first demo had to be tweaked,” Pardillo recalls. “Celia was two dif- ferent people.” The larger-than-life per- former audiences knew was only one side of her personality. “Onstage she was boisterous, loud, and full of energy,” he says. “But offstage she was soft- spoken and articulated every word.” He laughs while remembering one particularly distinctive trait. “Sometimes Caribbean people shorten certain words,” he says. “Celia never shortened a word.” Those details mattered. Re-creating Cruz wasn’t simply about matching her cadence or accent. It meant capturing the warmth, ele- gance, and precision that fans rarely wit- nessed away from the spotlight. Pardillo believes that same authenticity is what will make the project meaningful for people who never had the opportunity to see Cruz per- form live. “My hope is that, 20, 30, even 40 years from now, people will still be able to ex- perience her essence,” Pardillo says. “Tech- nology may change, but her music will always remain exactly as she created it. This is sim- ply another way for future generations to connect with the woman behind the voice.” Throughout the conversation, Pardillo re- peatedly returns to one word: “essence.” For him, preserving Cruz’s legacy has never been about nostalgia. It’s about ensur- ing people understand the woman behind the sequined gowns and booming stage presence. One memory, in particular, remains im- possible for him to forget. While receiving treatment for a brain tumor in New York City, Cruz became friendly with two Dominican teenage girls who were also undergoing treat- ment. The girls excitedly told friends and rel- atives they had been spending time with the legendary singer, but no one believed them. “Celia told them, ‘If I feel good after to- day’s treatment, I’ll go to your neighborhood so everyone can see you really know me,’” Pardillo recalls. Despite everything she was enduring, she kept her promise. “Celia did exactly that,” he says. “That’s who she was.” Stories like that explain why Pardillo is comfortable embracing AI only within deli- cately defined limits. The technology, he be- lieves, should amplify Cruz’s humanity rather than replace it. The estate has established firm guardrails governing how Cruz’s AI voice can be used. “We have the final say,” Pardillo says. “Her voice will never be used for politics or any- thing that doesn’t align with who she was. This project is about preserving her legacy, because Celia always believed music had the power to bring people together.” ElevenLabs, whose AI voice technology has also been used to preserve the voices of notable cultural figures, says it approached the collaboration with the same philosophy. “There’s no voice quite like Celia Cruz’s; her energy, her joy, and her cultural impact are truly one of a kind,” Bridget Ferris, Talent Part- nerships at ElevenLabs, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with her Estate and Xavie Agency to bring her voice into this new chapter of technology in a way that is inten- tional and worthy of her extraordinary legacy.” As artificial intelligence continues reshap- ing the entertainment industry, Cruz’s estate is betting that transparency and restraint will determine whether audiences embrace these projects. Pardillo insists the technology should never overshadow the artist herself. Instead, he hopes it becomes another bridge between generations—one that allows children who never saw Cruz command a stage to hear the warmth, optimism, and un- mistakable cadence that made her beloved around the world. Asked what Cruz would tell a young per- son hearing her voice for the first time through AI, Pardillo doesn’t hesitate. “She would always say, ‘Go to school, study, and do well,’” he says. “But, most im- portantly, ‘Be you. Keep dreaming until the day you make it.’” More than two decades after her death, Celia Cruz is still finding new ways to reach people. Not because artificial intelligence can replace her, but because the people entrusted with her legacy believe technology, when used with care, can ensure the Queen of Sal- sa’s voice continues telling her story for gen- erations to come. [email protected] ▼ Music The estate’s goal isn’t to create a digital performer. It’s to preserve Cruz’s voice as a historical and cultural resource. Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect “HER ENERGY, HER JOY, AND HER CULTURAL IMPACT ARE TRULY ONE OF A KIND.”
