U.S. #4501
2011 44¢ Celia Cruz
Latin Music Legends

Issue Date: March 16, 2011

City: Austin, TX

Printed By: Avery Dennison

Printing Method: Photogravure

Color: Multicolored

Celia Cruz liked to tell a joke about ordering café cubano (Cuban coffee) at a restaurant. When asked if she wanted sugar, she replied, “You can’t have Cuban coffee without sugar.” Cruz (1925-2003) told the joke so many times she would frequently just shout out the punch line, “Azucar!” (Sugar!), during her performances.

Cruz was a key inspiration for the salsa style of music and dance in America. She studied to be a teacher while growing up in Havana. The second-oldest of 14 children, she would sing her brothers and sisters to sleep. People who heard her encouraged her to perform. Cruz later studied voice, piano, and musical theory at the National Music Conservatory.

For 15 years, Cruz was lead singer for the Latin group La Sonora Matancera, and married trumpet player Pedro Knight. They moved to America after Fidel Castro rose to power in Cuba in 1957.

In 1968, Cruz became the best-known member of the Fania All-Stars, formed by the legendary Johnny Pacheco and featuring the top Latin music stars. Glittering clothes and elaborate, high-heeled shoes contributed to her image as a performer. Her powerful, passionate voice rang out in hits like “Quimbara,” “Tu Voz,” and “Usted Abuso,” and helped establish Celia Cruz as the “Queen of Salsa.”