Endemol Shine North America and Major TV have secured the rights to adapt the late Latin music icon Celia Cruz’s best-selling memoir, Celia: My Life, into a scripted television series. The adaptation will draw from Cruz’s authorized autobiography, which includes a poignant foreword by the late Maya Angelou.
Kenny Ortega, the renowned producer, director, and choreographer known for High School Musical, is set to executive produce and direct the series. Flavio Morales, EVP of Endemol Shine Latino’s U.S. Initiatives, will also serve as an executive producer.
The series will be based on over 500 hours of taped interviews conducted by the Smithsonian just months before Cruz’s death. These intimate recordings offer an unprecedented look at the personal life of the beloved singer, whose public persona had long overshadowed her private experiences.
Endemol Shine North America CEO Cris Abrego expressed excitement about the project, stating, “There is no bigger name in Latin music than Celia Cruz. We are thrilled to be adapting her amazing life story, one filled with triumph and tragedy, for a dramatic television series with a producer of Kenny Ortega’s pedigree attached.”
This project follows the companies’ recent announcement of another high-profile adaptation, having previously optioned the rights to To Selena With Love, the best-selling book that recounts the love story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez through the eyes of her widowed husband, Chris Perez.
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