A street in the Bronx in New York will bear the name of Celia Cruz

June 9, 2021

A street in the New York City neighborhood of El Bronx was named this Wednesday, June 2nd, after Celia Cruz, the legendary Cuban singer who brought our music throughout the world.

In what is known as the "Salsa County," the street was named in honor of the emblematic artist, a symbol of Latin music and also of migrants.

The street is located at the corner of Reservoir Avenue and West 195th Street, near the high school "Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music."

Omer Pardillo Cid, the singer's executor, described the day on his Facebook profile as an "important day for Celia Cruz's legacy."

Univision reported that local politicians and friends of the Queen of Salsa unveiled the new sign with the words Celia Cruz Way. City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, from District 14 in El Bronx, was present at the ceremony.

"Her courage and persistence inspire us every day (…) We are very proud of who she was and who she is in our hearts," said Councilman Cabrera during the event.

At the tribute, young people from the orchestra of Celia Cruz High School of Music performed "La vida es un carnaval" and "La negra tiene tumbao," songs popularized worldwide by the Cuban artist.

This will be the second street in that famous neighborhood to bear the name of the immortal "Queen of Salsa," as a section of Fordham Road was also designated as "Celia Cruz Boulevard," reported El Diario NY.

Other streets and plazas in the United States remember the artist in this way, in Miami, Los Angeles, and Union City (New Jersey). There are even others in Mexico, Spain, and Costa Rica.

"But this street is very special because this is the city where Celia Cruz chose to live part of her life, since 1960. She settled in this city and lived until her last day," said Pardillo, her former manager and president of the Celia Cruz Foundation.

"It is a city that brought her great joys. I have always said that the city of New York carries the sound of Celia Cruz in its walls," he added, according to a Univision report.

The salsa singer had a special relationship with "the Capital of the World," from where she projected her music with the orchestra of Johnny Pacheco, the Fania All-Stars. In New York she was buried after dying at age 77 in New Jersey, in the summer of 2003.

Celia rests in Woodlawn cemetery, "the Cemetery of the Famous," also located in the Bronx. Her husband, musician Pedro Knight, lies by her side since he passed away in 2007. The mausoleum is one of the most visited.

The salsa singer began her fame in the 1950s, as vocalist for La Sonora Matancera. With the advent of the revolution that Fidel Castro led, the artist went into exile in the United States, where she joined the Latin artists of Fania All-Stars, and began her solo career.

Among the recognitions that Celia deserved, multiple platinum and gold records are remembered, four Grammy Awards and four Latin Grammys. Additionally, she received three honorary doctorates, the Presidential Medal of the Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.