A Street in Miami Beach Will Bear the Name of Celia Cruz

October 24, 2023

The city of Miami Beach named one of its streets after Celia Cruz, in honor of the Cuban singer known as the 'Queen of Salsa', on October 11th.

At the official ceremony, a segment of Meridian Avenue was christened "Celia Cruz Way". The ceremony took place at 1755 on the aforementioned street, according to reporting by Telemundo 51 Miami.

"With pride we present the new sign at the corner of 18th Street and Meridian Avenue in honor of the 'Queen of Salsa'", reported the official account of the City of Miami Beach on X, formerly Twitter.

The ceremony was directed by Dan Gelber, mayor of Miami Beach, Celia's niece Linda Bécquer Pritchett and Cuban artist Yotuel Romero.

This is the second street in the United States that bears the name of the well-known Cuban singer. In June 2021, a street in the New York neighborhood of El Bronx was named after her. The street is located at the corner of Reservoir Avenue and West 195th Street, near the "Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music".

According to her former manager, who is the president of the Celia Cruz Foundation, this street in New York is "very special because this is the city in which Celia Cruz chose to live part of her life, since 1960". Following her death, which occurred in 2003, she was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx, in "the Cemetery of the Famous". Her husband, musician Pedro Knight, who died in 2007, rests at her side.

Celia Cruz died in exile without ever being able to return to Cuba because of her strong stance against Fidel Castro's regime.

Among the accolades the diva received during her lifetime were multiple platinum and gold records, 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.