The U.S. Mint recently unveiled the design for the 5 coins that are part of the collection of women honorees for the 2024 edition of the American Women Quarters Program.

Celia Cruz, the Cuban superstar recognized as the “Queen of Salsa,” is one of those selected and becomes the first Afro-Latina to be represented on a U.S. quarter.

The design features the beloved world-famous entertainer donning a ball gown as she displays her traditional smile and shares her signature catchphrase “Azúcar!” (which means sugar) inscribed along with her name.

The Mint highlighted in the description of the design:

The 2024 Celia Cruz Quarter is the 14th coin in the American Women Quarters™ Program. Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer, cultural icon, and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century.

Deserved Recognition

Cruz, who was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1925 and began singing in the 1940s, went into exile in the United States after a performing tour in Mexico following the outbreak of the 1959 Cuban revolution.

She became world-famous for her incredible talent and unparalleled charisma, which allowed her to stand out and succeed in a music genre that was dominated by male artists.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded her the President's National Medal of Arts, and she received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Grammys.

“The Queen of Salsa” recorded more than 80 albums, and 23 of them went gold. She was a three-time Grammy winner and a four-time Latin Grammy winner.

The wait is over! We are pleased to announce the designs for the 2024 coins in the American Women Quarters™ Program, honoring the achievements of Dr. Pauli Murray, The Honorable Patsy Mink, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Celia Cruz, and Zitkala-Ša. https://t.co/FxUlfZoQIr #HerQuarter pic.twitter.com/AWy90Rqbeh

— United States Mint (@usmint) July 20, 2023

Luxury List

The other women honorees for the 2024 coins are:

1. Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii — The first woman of color to serve in Congress
2. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker — Civil War-era surgeon, women's rights advocate, and abolitionist
3. Reverend Pauli Murray — Poet, writer, activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest
4. Zitkala-Ša — Also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, she was a writer, composer, educator, and political activist for Native American citizenship and other civil rights.

The women were chosen by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Smithsonian Museum of American Women's History, the National Museum of Women's History, and the Bipartisan Congressional Women's Caucus.