The Queen of Salsa, Cuban singer Celia Cruz, has become the first Afro-Latina woman to be honored on a U.S. coin as part of the celebratory American Women’s Quarters program.
Cruz, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 77, began her rise in the music world in the 1950’s as the singer of Cuba’s hugely popular orchestra La Sonora Matancera, and went on to stardom with a career lasting half a century.
She earned 23 gold albums, was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously, and was chosen to be one of five women represented on U.S. coinage in 2024.
The U.S. Mint has been celebrating women through a program called the American Women Quarters, which they explain is meant to “honor a diverse group of notable American women who made significant contributions in a variety of fields.”
As of this week, the quarter for Celia Cruz is in circulation, so you might actually want to look more closely at your change after a cash purchase, because you could end up with Celia Cruz on your hands. If you do, be sure to shout “azúcar” which means “sugar,” which the Cuban star would often shout out while performing. Hence why the word is printed on the coin, which depicts her in singing pose and somehow manages to capture the liveliness of her performances.
If you don’t want to wait to find the Cruz quarter, the U.S. Mint also offers them in bulk but if you want one each of the five coins, then you can purchase them as a set of ornaments which is really each coin in a unique case.
The other four women being celebrated in 2024 are Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Honorable Patsy Takemoto Mink, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, and Zitkala-Ša. Previous honorees include Eleanor Roosevelt, Anna May Wong, Sally Ride, Maya Angelou, and Chief Wilma Mankiller.
Published: Aug 16, 2024 04:34 pm