Miami/The legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz became the “first Latin artist” whose voice has been recreated using artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that will only be used in projects in line with her legacy and the values she defended in life, such as “praising” Hispanic culture, her executor, Omer Pardillo, explained to EFE.
The representative explained that the objective is to preserve the legacy of the queen of saucewho died in 2003, and bring it closer to new generations without losing control over the use of her image and voice.
“The purpose is for Celia’s voice and legacy to remain relevant and accessible for future generations,” he said.
The representative specified that the voice generated with artificial intelligence has already been created and registered, but that its use will be subject to strict supervision by the estate of the artist, born in Havana in 1925.
“It’s not that everyone is going to have access and take Celia’s voice and do what they want, no. This is a very limited process,” he assured.
Pardillo clarified that each proposal will be analyzed before receiving authorization. “I have to be very careful because I don’t want Celia’s voice to be used for things that she wouldn’t have wanted. Always when I’m going to start a project I think about it three times and think: Would she have liked it or wouldn’t she have liked it?”, he emphasized.
He stated that the work was carried out by ElevenLabs, which had already simulated the voice of the American poet Maya Angelou, whom he met through Celia Cruz, which, he says, dispelled his initial doubts about the use of this technology.
The executor, who worked with the sauce boat since he was 17 years old, also ruled out that the technology will be used for political campaigns.
![The executor, who worked with the sauce boat since he was 17 years old, ruled out that the technology will be used for political campaigns.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 9"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
/ EFE
“I would never use it for anything political, any campaign or anything,” he said. Instead, he considered that the tool can serve to disseminate the history of Latin music and answer questions with statements that the singer made during her life.
“I think it is more to praise our culture… and that she can respond to you with the things she said, because we are not going to go too far outside of what she said,” he explained.
He added that, although the technology allows the voice to be reproduced in both Spanish and English, the priority will be Spanish. He noted that he would only consider “some little things in English” if they maintain the authenticity of the interpreter.
Among the applications it also contemplates are the narration of books and educational content, always respecting the artist’s thoughts.
Pardillo admitted that one of his greatest fears was that anyone could use the voice of the ‘Guarachera of Cuba’ without authorization or associate it with messages contrary to his convictions.
“The biggest fear was that everyone would have access and that tomorrow I would find Celia’s voice speaking to some character that she would never have wanted. That doesn’t happen,” he said.
From ElevenLabs, the head of talent alliances, Bridget Ferris, highlighted the value of this collaboration “to bring his voice to this new chapter of technology in a way that is intentional and worthy of his extraordinary legacy.”
“There is no voice like Celia Cruz’s; her energy, her joy and her cultural impact are truly unique,” said Ferris.
Pardillo stressed that ElevenLabs maintains control over the use of the voice and that any unauthorized use will be combated through legal means. “There is absolute control of management,” he concluded.
