Celia Cruz Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance for "Ritmo en el Corazón" in 1989 and later won the first Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Album in 2000
• Made more than 75 albums during her career, 20 of which were gold certified
• Was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1994
• Because her father wished for her to stay in school and choose a more "traditional" career, she attended the National Teachers' College and the National Conservatory of Music, but eventually dropped out to pursue a full-time singing career
• Began her music career in the 1940s, when she began winning singing contests in Cuba like the "La hora del té․"
• Began recording her music in 1948 and joined the Cuban orchestra Sonora Matancera in 1950, where she first became successful with Cuban audiences
• Quote: "When people hear me sing, I want them to be happy, happy, happy․ I don't want them thinking about when there's not any money, or when there's fighting at home․ My message is always felicidad - happiness․"
• After becoming a U․S․ citizen in 1961 due to the Fidel Castro's Communist takeover of Cuba, she began touring with the Tito Puente Orchestra, where she gained popularity with U․S․ audiences
• Best known as a salsa signer and performer often referred to as the "Queen of Salsa" and the "Queen of Latin Music․"
• Her catchphrase "Azucar!," meaning "sugar," was an allusion to the African slaves who had worked on sugar plantations in Cuba