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Celia Cruz, icon of salsa music, to be the first Afro Latina to appear on a US quarter

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2002 file photo, Cuba's Celia Cruz arrives for a tribute in honor of Mexico's Vicente Fernandez as the 2002 Latin Recording Academy person of the year in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Telemundo will air the first episode of "Celia", based on the life of Cuban singer Celia Cruz, on October 13. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File) (KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

The late Cuban American singer Celia Cruz, known as the Queen of Salsa, will be the first Afro-Latina to appear on the U.S. quarter.

Cruz was one of the 20th century’s most celebrated Latin music artists. She recorded over 80 albums and gained worldwide fame. She was recognized with 23 gold albums, three Grammy Awards, four Latin Grammy Awards and the President’s National Medal of Arts, according to the Smithsonian Institution. She was also honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Grammys.

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Born in Havana in 1925, Cruz began singing in the 1940s. After the 1959 Cuban revolution, she exiled in the U.S. after a performance tour in Mexico. Although salsa was a genre dominated by male artists, Cruz became a celebrated star and helped increase the popularity of salsa and Latin music in general.

Read the full report from NBC News.


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