In 2024, Celia Cruz’s joyful face as a mature woman was cast in relief on a quarter, a commemorative coin issued by the United States Treasury in advance of the centennial of her birth on October 21, 1925, which is to be celebrated with anticipated fanfare this fall. The toy company Mattel had already honored her by putting out a Celia Cruz Barbie in 2023. The curvy doll dressed in a red lace dress and gold sandals, part of the company’s Inspiring Women series, sold out quickly. Those and other pieces of popular iconography, like T-shirts and pillows with a beatific image of Cruz wearing her 1970s afro hairstyle, or an iPhone case emblazoned with the singer’s signature cry of “AZÚCAR,” have heightened her immortality to a rarified level that goes beyond her three Grammy awards (and 14 nominations), 70 albums, and more than six million monthly Spotify listens. Through her memorabilia, as well as her music, 22 years since her death, Cruz lives on as a household saint.
Celia Cruz memorabilia, including signature Barbie, prayer candle, iPhone case, and T-shirt, some of which is available on the official Celia Cruz store
