While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo, Antonio Arcaño and Arsenio Rodríguez. She also sang in school during the Fridays' actos cívicos and in her neighborhood ensemble, Botón de oro. According to her mother, she began singing as a child at 9 or 10 months of age, often in the middle of the night. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children living in the house, including cousins and her three siblings, Dolores, Gladys, and Bárbaro, and she used to sing cradle songs to put them to sleep. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railway stoker, and her mother, Catalina Alfonso Ramos, a housewife who took care of an extended family. Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on 21 October 1925, at 47 Serrano Street in the Santos Suárez neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Her catchphrase ' ¡Azúcar!' ('Sugar!') has become one of the most recognizable symbols of salsa music. In addition to her prolific career in music, Cruz also made several appearances as an actress in movies and telenovelas. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. Her musical legacy is made up of a total of 37 studio albums, as well as numerous live albums and collaborations. During the last years of her career, Cruz continued to release successful songs such as ' La vida es un carnaval' and ' La negra tiene tumbao'. She often appeared live with Fania All-Stars and collaborated with Johnny Pacheco and Willie Colón. In the 1970s, she signed for Fania Records and became strongly associated with the salsa genre, releasing hits such as 'Quimbara'. In the 1960s, she collaborated with Tito Puente, recording her signature tune 'Bemba colorá'.

Cruz continued her career, first in Mexico, and then in the United States, the country that she took as her definitive residence.

In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution caused the nationalization of the music industry, Cruz left her native country, becoming one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. Cruz mastered a wide variety of Afro-Cuban music styles including guaracha, rumba, afro, son and bolero, recording numerous singles in these styles for Seeco Records. She began her career in her native Cuba, earning recognition as a vocalist of the popular musical group Sonora Matancera, a musical association that lasted fifteen years (1950-1965). In the following decades, she became known internationally as the ' Queen of Salsa' due to her contributions to Latin music. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname 'La Guarachera de Cuba'. Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century.

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