CDMX.- The Queen of Salsa and Cuban icon, Celia Cruz, was selected to appear on the quarter dollar coins in the United States.
Cruz, who died in 2003, was selected by the United States Mint to be one of five honorees in the 2024 American Women Quarters Program.
It is an initiative that honors the achievements and services of American women. The US Mint releases up to five new designs each year; they started in 2022 and will continue their plan until 2025, according to Variety.
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, the singer’s real name, was one of the best-known Latino performers of the 20th century and a cultural icon. She has won many accolades and honors, including five Grammy Awards, a National Medal of Arts, and a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.
“All of the women honorees have lived remarkable and multifaceted lives, and have made a significant impact on our nation in their own unique way,” Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson said in an official statement.
“These women pioneered change in their lifetimes, never giving in to the status quo. By honoring these women, the Mint continues to connect America through coins that are like little works of art in your pocket.”
The other women elected were Patsy Takemoto Mink, who was the first woman of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Civil War-era surgeon, women’s rights advocate, and abolitionist; Pauli Murray, poet, writer, activist, attorney, and civil rights advocate; and Zitkala-a, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, writer, composer, educator, and Native American rights political activist.
Designs for the 2024 American Women’s Quarters will be released in mid-2023.
