Celia Cruz

AKA:

Queen of Salsa

Birth Name:

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso

Birth Date:

October 21, 1925

Birth Place:

Havana, Cuba

Death Date:

July 16, 2003

Place of Death:

Fort Lee, New Jersey

Age:

Cause of Death:

Brain tumor

Cemetery Name:

Woodlawn Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Originally Celia Cruz studied to be a teacher in her native Havana, but was lured into show business when a relative entered her in a radio talent contest, which she won. She later studied music at the Havana Conservatory and performed at the wold-famous Tropicana nightclub. In the 1950s, Cruz became famous with the legendary Afro-Cuban group La Sonora Matancera. She left Cuba after its 1959 revolution for the United States in 1960, and never returned. With her powerful voice and flamboyant stage shows, Cruz helped bring salsa music to a broad audience. Her alliance with fellow salsa star and "Mambo King" Tito Puente garnered some of the biggest success in her career. The two recorded albums and regularly performed together, and they were considered legends of the genre. All in all she recorded more than 70 albums and had more than a dozen Grammy nominations. She won best salsa album for "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" and again the following year. Among her other best-known recordings are "Yerberito Moreno" and "Que le Den Candela."

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Woodlawn Cemetery

4199 Webster Avenue

The Bronx, New York, 10470

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Walnut Section

Grave Location Description

The Walnut Section is located in F-4 in the official Woodlawn Cemetery map. This section, in roughly the center of this 400-acre cemetery, is bordered by Park, Central and Myosotis Avenues. If you circle the section on these three roads you will find the final resting place of Celia Cruz about 20 feet from the road.