Celia Cruz died 12 years ago today, on July 16, 2003, from a brain tumor at age 77. But the Queen of Salsa’s legacy is as alive as ever. We look back at her incredible life story through photos.
Watch a Sneak Peek of ‘Celia,’ the New Telemundo Series Inspired by Celia Cruz (Exclusive)
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images In 1951, Cuban singer Celia Cruz recorded her first 78 rpm record with the legendary Cuban orchestra, La Sonora Matancera. They went on to play at some of the most celebrated venues in Cuba and abroad, including the world-famous Tropicana casino and nightclub in Havana. It is through La Sonora that Cruz met the love of her life, Pedro Knight, the orchestra’s lead trumpeter.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: LUCY NICHOLSON/AFP/Getty Images Jan. 1, 1959 marked the start of Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba. On July 15, 1960, Cruz left Cuba for good with Knight, and became a U.S. citizen the following year. The couple (photographed together in 2002) settled in New Jersey and married in 1962. They remained inseparable until her death in 2003.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Cruz (pictured circa 1970) ended her 15-year run with La Sonora Matancera and went solo in 1965. She then made Knight her manager.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images Cruz teamed up with the King of Mambo, Tito Puente, in 1966. The two (pictured in 1992) went on to record a total of eight albums on Tico Records and tour the world together.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images In 1973, Cruz (pictured in 1986) starred in the Latin opera Hommy, inspired by the rock opera Tommy.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Mario Ruiz/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images On Aug. 24, 1973, Cruz (pictured in 1988) performed with the Fania All-Stars — including salsa singer Hector Lavoe, Latin jazz star Ray Barretto, salsa star Willie Colón and musician Ruben Blades — before 50,000 fans at a sold-out Yankee Stadium.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: KMazur/WireImage In 1987, Cruz (pictured in 2001) received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one of many honors in different cities around the world.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images In 1991, Cruz was honored with her own street, Celia Cruz Way, at Miami’s Calle Ocho festival.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images In 1990, Cruz (photographed at the 2001 Latin Grammys) won her first Grammy Award for best tropical Latin performance for Ritmo en el Corazón, which she recorded with Ray Barretto. During her lifetime, the singer won three Grammys and four Latin Grammys.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: PhotoFest In 1992, Cruz hit the big screen to play Evalina Montoya, the wealthy owner of Club Babalú, in the film The Mambo Kings, starring Antonio Banderas and Armand Assante. The movie was one of several acting roles throughout her career.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage In 1994, Cruz (photographed with Emilio Estefan and her husband, Pedro Knight) was one of the first inductees into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame alongside Cuban bassist and composer Cachao Lopez.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: M. Caulfield/WireImage In 1994, President Bill Clinton bestowed Cruz (pictured in 2002) with a National Endowment for the Arts Medal, one of the highest honors in the U.S. e)
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images Latin music royals Cruz, Ricky Martin and fellow Cuban Gloria Estefan performed at the first-ever Latin Grammy Awards in 2000.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: M. Caulfield/WireImage The always show-stopping Cruz performed at the 2002 Latin Grammy Awards in one of her most memorable outfits — a mile-high white-and-blue wig and matching blue gown.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect That same year, Cruz won a Latin Grammy for her album La Negra Tiene Tumbao, and received the award from Justin Timberlake.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: RICHARD DREW/AFP/Getty Images After battling brain cancer, Cruz died on July 16, 2003, in her home in Fort Lee, N.J., at age 77. Patti LaBelle sang “Ave Maria” at Cruz’s funeral, held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on July 22, 2003, in New York City. Luminaries from Antonio Banderas, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ruben Blades, and Marc Anthony attended to pay their respects. Thousands of fans lined up along the streets of Manhattan to glimpse the horse-drawn carriage carrying the late Queen of Salsa from an Upper East Side funeral home to the church.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Fans in Miami also get a chance to bid farewell to Cruz on July 20, 2003, when services were held at Gesu Catholic Church and her coffin was put on display in a roped-off area inside the Freedom Tower. It’s the closest she got to her beloved homeland since she left in 1960.
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Celia Cruz
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images To this day, Cruz’s legacy endures. At the 2013 American Music Awards, a decade after her death, Jennifer Lopez paid a heartfelt musical tribute to the Queen of Salsa.
Watch a Sneak Peek of ‘Celia,’ the New Telemundo Series Inspired by Celia Cruz (Exclusive)