Celia Cruz

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, also known by her stage name Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003), was a Cuban singer of Latin music. She was known for her powerful voice and her rhythm-centric musical style. She was the most popular Latin artist of the 20th century, gaining twenty-three gold albums during her career. US President Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 1994. She was renowned internationally as the Queen of Salsa, La Guarachera de Cuba, as well as The Queen of Latin Music.She spent much of her career working in the United States and several Latin American countries. Leila Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said Cruz is indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban and Latin music. She was an ambassador for the variety and vitality of the music of her native Havana, and after the Cuban revolution she became a symbol of artistic freedom for Cuban American exiles.

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