CELIA CRUZ

If there is one artist in Latin music that defines living legend it has to be the one and only Reina de la Salsa Celia Cruz. Year after year, Celia continues to record albums, performed internationally and add more and more awards to her huge collection of accolades.

Her first talent award was received in 1947, in her native Havana. Shortly after, she enrolled in the National Music Conservatory, where she studied musical theory, voice, and piano. Soon her music was in demand from the worlds of radio, movies, and television.

In the early 50's she replaced Myrta Silva in the legendary group La Sonora Matancera, and together they wrote some of the most memorable chapters in Afrocuban music. This alliance grew beyond the borders of her native island, and her talent was soon exported throughout the world.

On July 15th, 1960, she left her homeland for the United States, fooling the regime into thinking she was simply going on another tour with La Sonora Matancera. Castro never forgave her for this and refused to let her visit Cuba even when her mother was sick and her father died.

Once in America she recorded several albums with maestro Tito Puente and together they sparked an interest in salsa among Anglo and European audiences. This phenomenon was known as "the Salsa of the 70's". Her collaborations with other maestros, such as Johnny Pacheco, Willy Colуn, and la Fania All Stars, are also memorable.

Although she's received many distinctions, the 90's have marked a very special period in her career. In this decade, the Smithsonian Institution gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Republic of Colombia awarded her the Presidential Medal in Arts, she received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hispanic Heritage Awards, and the City of San Francisco declared October 25th, 1997 as "Celia Cruz's Day", to name a few.

But undoubtedly, one of the most memorable moments in her life was in 1994, when in the White House she received from the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, the highest honor this country bestows an artist: the National Endowment for the Arts.

Celia and her husband bandleader and trumpeter Pedro Knight have one of the most solid, loving marriages in entertainment. Married since 1962, the couple have worked together and traveled together throughout their marriage.

Celia's trademark use of the word "Azuuuuuuuuuuucar!" while on stage originated from a story she once told onstage about trying to get enough sugar for her beloved Cuban coffee. After telling the story to reporters and audiences repeatedly she decided to just enter a room saying "Azucar" a leaving it at that.

Sadly on July 2003 Celia Cruz passed away but left a lasting memory in the latin musicans she influenced and the millions of fans that will always remember the brightest star in the latin music.