Celia Cruz was a naturalized Cuban-American singer who became one of the most well-known Latin performers of the 20th century. She was born Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso and died on 16 July 2003.
Cruz became well-known in Cuba in the 1950s for singing guarachas, gaining the moniker “La Guarachera de Cuba.” Due to her contributions to Latin music in the next decades, she rose to fame globally as the “Queen of Salsa.”
Celia Cruz siblings: Meet Dolores Ramos, Bárbaro Jiménez, Gladys Bécquer
She lived with family her three siblings, Dolores, Gladys, and Bárbaro, as well as cousins. Celia was one of the older ones and would sing lullabies to the younger ones to help them go to sleep.
Her mother claims that she started singing when she was 9 or 10 months old, frequently in the middle of the night. She also sang in her neighbourhood group, Botón de oro, and at the Friday civic acts at her school.
