NEW YORK (Celia Cruz Fans Website) - Cuban exiles in Miami have been mourning the loss of legendary salsa singer Celia Cruz. The "Freedom Tower" in Miami, where Cuban migrants were processed during the first wave of exiles after President Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, flew its Cuban flag at half-staff.
Mourners laid flowers at a small stone marked with the singer's name in Little Havana, the neighborhood viewed as the heart of Miami's Cuban community.
But in Havana, the tributes were more muted with the Communist Party newspaper calling the Cuban-born singer an "important" performer in a two-paragraph story.
Cruz's music was banned in Cuba after she left the island in 1959. "I don't want to say that we've lost Celia because her music, her spirit and her 'azucar' will always be with us," said Cuban-born singer Gloria Estefan, referring to Cruz's exuberant shout of "azucar", Spanish for "sugar".
"I am sad and I miss her a lot," said a 72-year-old exile who identified himself only as Mr Martinez. He had traveled the 225 miles from his home in Orlando, Florida, to attend a church service in Cruz's honour on Thursday.
Spanish-language radio stations in Miami aired hours of tributes and the daily newspaper El Nuevo Herald devoted its entire front page to a photo of the singer and an elegy to "Eternal Celia".
Known as the Queen of Salsa and considered the most influential woman in the history of Afro-Cuban music, she is credited with bringing salsa to a wide audience.
Originally from Havana, Cruz was one of 14 children. Her parents had hoped she would be a teacher, but in 1947, she enrolled in the National Music Conservatory Of Cuba. She became a star in Cuba when she joined the group La Sonora Mantancera. However, when Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, La Sonora Mantancera defected. Celia Cruz settled in New York in 1962 and married the group's trumpet player, Pedro Knight, that same year. She soon joined forces with Tito Puente and his band, touring and recording a series of albums. Next, her solo career took off when she began to record with the top names of '60s salsa, including Cheo Feliciano, Oscar D'Leon, Ray Barretto, Pete Conde, Johnny Pacheco, and others. She later toured with the Fania All Stars.
Cruz kept up a hectic touring schedule until very late in her life. She continued to win over new fans by continually teaming up with such various artists as Patti LaBelle, Dionne Warwick and David Byrne of Talking Heads. Her career was reinvigorated once again as audiences embraced her performances in the popular 1992 film, the Mambo Kings. She was loved and respected as much by today's artists as she was by her peers.
Cruz had undergone emergency surgery last December at New York's Presbyterian hospital after complaining of ill health. Though she would not disclose the details of her illness, it was believed that she had brain surgery. She recovered and returned to performing in recent months, including a national TV commercial for Dr. Pepper featuring Paulina Rubio.
Cruz was set to deliver a new CD, titled Regalo De Alma, in August.
