Craft Latino has announced The Queen of Salsa, a new collection featuring 12 tracks from Celia Cruz’s crowning years (1966–1993). Curated from her recordings with Tico, Vaya, Seeco and Fania Records, this commemorative release honors Celia’s and also highlights her collaborations with Latin music stars such as Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón and the Fania All Stars.
Featuring hits like “Quimbara,” “Usted abusó,” “Guantanamera” and more, The Queen of Salsa will be released on October 24th, 2025 on LP, CD and digital formats. The collection also includes new artwork and liner notes by Ana Cristina Reymundo, co-author of Cruz’s authorized autobiography.
Additionally, a limited-edition “Azúcar Naranja” (Orange Sugar) color vinyl variant (only 300 copies) is available as a stand-alone, or a bundle option that includes a collectible Fania Logo T-shirt, exclusively online at Fania.com.
Celia Cruz is beloved around the world and across multiple generations of fans. Her career spanned five decades and multiple genres and styles. Born in Havana, Cuba, the island would continue to influence Cruz’s life. Entering music after winning a radio contest, Cruz soon performed with a number of bands.
This collection celebrates her versatility with highlights like the Afro-Cuban anthem “Químbara” from the 1974 Celia & Johnny album, the salsa classic “Usted abusó” from her 1977 collaboration album with Willie Colón titled Only They Could Have Made This Album, her rendition of the bolero standard “Quizás, quizás, quizás,” from 1993’s Boleros, and her interpretation of “Guantanamera,” the ode to Cuba drawn from José Mati’s Versos sencillos (Simple Verses), first recorded on her 1967 album Bravo.
Throughout the years, the seven-time Grammy winner Celia Cruz has been honored with numerous awards, exhibits, commemorative stamps, samples by major artists and tributes, including a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Medal of the Arts, a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1987) and inductions into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame (1994) and the International Latin Music Hall of Fame (1999), among others. Last year, Cruz became the first Afro-Latina to appear on U.S. currency through the American Women’s Quarter Program.
