The Afro-Latina singer is honored in the American Women Quarter Program for leaving her cultural stamp in the music industry.
The 14th quarter of the American Women Quarters Program, featuring the late Cuban singer Celia Cruz, is now available for purchase. This officially declares the legendary “Queen of Salsa” as the first Afro-Latina featured on U.S. currency.
“To have been honored by the U.S. Mint in this way would have surprised her greatly since she was a simple and humble woman,” said artistic representative and the executor of her estate, Omer Pardillo-Cid, in an Aug. 12 announcement of the quarter
The cultural icon was born in Havana, Cuba, on October 21, 1925. Influenced by her exposure to diverse music in her Santos Suárez neighborhood, a young Cruz discovered her passion to become a singer, leading her to study at Havana’s National Conservatory of Music. As previously highlighted by BLACK ENTERPRISE, the international sensation is known for her Spanish-language global hits that are a celebration of culture. Cruz has contributed significantly to the development of salsa music, a genre she helped popularize and innovate, as one of the few women to thrive in the male-dominant genre. Her impactful works have granted her three Grammy awards, four Latin Grammy awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was inducted into Billboard’s Latin Music Hall of Fame and the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and honored with a Presidential Medal of Arts.
Source: Black Enterprise
