The Eternal Celia Cruz

Exile

After the start of the Cuban Revolution, Cruz and La Sonora Matancera were getting ready to travel to Mexico on July 15, 1960. As the plane took off, music director Rogelio Martínez announced they would never return. In Mexico, fame awaited them, along with films and tours around the United States. A year later, Cruz and Knight settled down in New York. Tired of recording with La Sonora Matancera and eager to expand her musical horizons, she ended her relationship with the Seeco label. Fifty years later, her image would adorn a postal stamp in her adopted country.

Cruz joined forces with Tito Puente, left, in 1965. Here, the stars are together in the 1980s.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Karen Petersen/Everett Collection; Getty Images (3))

The Guarachera and the King of the Timbales

In 1965, Cruz began working with timbalero Tito Puente, touring and recording a series of fascinating LPs that achieved little commercial success. Their collaboration kicked off in great style with “La Guarachera” — the opening track of Cuba y Puerto Rico son … — with Cruz brilliantly imitating the percussive sounds of the timbales. Trying to interest young people obsessed with The Beatles, Puente experimented with modern orchestrations, revisiting old hits by La Matancera such as “Dile Que por Mí no Tema” and “Sahara.”

Cruz dances with Fania All Stars director Johnny Pacheco, left, in Africa.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Getty Images (3))

Time for salsa

Just when it seemed like Cruz’s career had irretrievably declined, the explosion of salsa in New York in the early 1970s put her in an unbeatable position. Accompanied by the flutist and orchestra director Johnny Pacheco, Cruz recorded “Químbara” in 1974. It became a salsa anthem, and the albums Celia & Johnny and Tremendo Caché were now emblems of this new Afro-Caribbean movement.

Cruz, seen here in about 1970, became the only female singer for the Fania All Stars.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Getty Images (2))

Fania All-Stars

In addition to working with Pacheco, Cruz — having dethroned her main competitor and compatriot, La Lupe — became the only female singer of the musical group Fania All-Stars, performing concerts alongside salsa greats such as Héctor Lavoe, Cheo Feliciano and Ismael Miranda. Their fiery version of “Bemba Colorá,” relentless and feverish in its salsa style, is a defining hit of the era. In 1974, Cruz sang “Guantanamera” in a stadium in the Congo, driving Africans crazy with her tropical style.

In 1977, the album "Only They Could Have Made This Album" included a version of the Brazilian hit “Usted Abusó.”

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Photo by David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Getty Images (3))

“Usted Abusó”

Under Fania Records, Cruz recorded a wide range of albums in collaboration with the label’s stars. While continuing to sing with Pacheco, she befriended Willie Colón, known for his work with Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades, and who favored a more progressive sound. In 1977, Only They Could Have Made This Album included a lilting version of the Brazilian hit “Usted Abusó” as well as “A Papá,” in Afro-Puerto Rican plena rhythms. In 1979, she recorded the extraordinary album La Ceiba with the Puerto Rican orchestra La Sonora Ponceña.

The Rumba continues

While classic salsa music was losing ground during the ’80s, Cruz’s productivity continued to shine. In 1983, she recorded Tremendo Trío with conga master Ray Barretto and singer Adalberto Santiago, performing the heart-stopping hit “Nadie Se Salva de la Rumba.” Five years later, The Winner again captured her remarkable musical chemistry with Barretto, and in 1992, her tribute to Ismael Rivera — her last work for the Fania conglomerate — included sizzling versions of “Las Caras Lindas” and “El Negro Bembón.”

Cruz’s voice became raspy, deep and chocolaty as she aged.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: CM GUERRERO; Getty Images(3))

A carnival of hits

Getting older did wonders for Cruz’s vocal cords: her voice became raspy, deep and chocolaty, exuding joy and exhilaration. Performing live, she commanded the audience’s attention like an empress, stringing together decades of her repertoire without forgetting a single lyric. Ralph Mercado’s label, RMM, paired her with Willy Chirino in 1995, modernizing her style with the radio hit “Que le den Candela.” In 1998, “La Vida es un Carnaval” became one of the defining anthems of Latin music.

Cruz died in 2003 at 77. Flowers adorn her star in the Little Havana section of Miami.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Richard Patterson; Getty Images (2))

She lives on

Cruz remained with Sony until the end of her career, where she worked with young managers and producers. The label promoted her as a true music legend. Her album Siempre Viviré was released in 2000, along with “Yo Viviré,” Cruz’s version of Gloria Gaynor’s hit “I Will Survive.” However, Cruz’s lyrics and voice turned it into a prophecy. The 2001 album La Negra Tiene Tumbao, which earned her two Grammy Awards, is a cleverly orchestrated mix of Afro-Cuban roots with elements of hip-hop and a digital production. Cruz died July 16, 2003, at the age of 77. Years later, her artistic legacy maintains a freshness and relevance that set her apart from other artists of her generation.

The Celia Cruz Foundation released "En Vivo: 100 Años de Azúcar" in May 2024 ahead of the centennial celebration of her birth.

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Courtesy of celiacruz.com; Getty Images (3))

100 years of azúcara!

In honor of the centennial anniversary of her birth Oct. 21, 2025, the Celia Cruz Foundation is organizing a year of multiple initiatives to remember and honor the performer. It began with the release in May of the album En Vivo: 100 Años de Azúcar. It includes nine songs performed by Cruz in a Miami nightclub in 1986 and 1987, which remained unreleased until they were compiled in this commemorative LP and include “Quimbara,” “Bemba Colorá,” “La Dicha Mía” and “Tu Voz.” To the delight of her fans, the cover of a limited-edition collector’s set comes adorned with fabric and sequins from one of Cruz’s dresses. The set also includes a book of 100 photos — one for each year of the centennial — leaving no doubt of the queen’s enduring power to captivate her fans.