Celia Cruz will be first Afro Latina to appear on a U.S. quarter

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Cuban icon and Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz will be the first Afro Latina to appear on a U.S. quarter.

Celia Cruz legacy continues on a quarter

Cruz is one of five honorees who are a part of the American Women Quarters Program for 2024. The program, which began in 2022 and runs until 2025, celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of American women. Other honorees for 2024 include Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War surgeon and suffragist; Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist and lawyer; and Zitkala-Ša, a voting rights activist from the Yankton Sioux Nation.

“All of the women being honored have lived remarkable and multi-faceted lives, and have made a significant impact on our Nation in their own unique way,” said Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson in a statement.

“The women pioneered change during their lifetimes, not yielding to the status quo imparted during their lives. By honoring these pioneering women, the Mint continues to connect America through coins which are like small works of art in your pocket.”

Career

Born in 1925 in Havana and migrated to the U.S. in 1961, the late Cuban American icon recorded over 80 albums, earned 23 gold records, won five Grammy Awards, and received the president’s National Medal of Arts.

Cruz died in 2003 at the age of 77.