Celia Cruz

Friday, January 01, 1988

Celia Cruz was born in Cuba in 1925 and immigrated to the United States in 1961 following the Cuban Revolution. Known as the “Queen of Salsa”, Cruz was a GRAMMY-award winning singer and one of the most influential voices in Latin music. Cruz was the sole female member of the Fania All Stars supergroup. Cruz collaborated with Ray Barretto for her album “Ritmo en el corazón” (1988) and won her first Grammy award in 1990. Cruz created 75 music tracks and received numerous awards such as the National Medal of Arts (1994) and 13 years after her passing, Cruz was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2016).