Legendary ‘Queen of Salsa’ Celia Cruz Will Appear on 2024 U.S. Quarter

Flip a coin and you might just see this legendary superstar.

Cuban American performer, Celia Cruz, will be honored as part of the American Women Quarters Program, appearing on the U.S. quarter in 2024.

The United States Mint made the announcement about the Havana-born artist, as the designs for the 2024 American Women Quarters are set to be released in mid-2023.

“All of the women being honored have lived remarkable and multi-faceted lives, and have made a significant impact on our Nation in their own unique way,” Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson, said. “The women pioneered change during their lifetimes, not yielding to the status quo imparted during their lives. By honoring these pioneering women, the Mint continues to connect America through coins which are like small works of art in your pocket.”

According to CNN, Cruz’s appearance will make her the first Latina to be featured in the American Women Quarters Program.

Cruz joins a list of other notable women in this class of honorees that includes African American poet, writer, activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray; Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color to hold a seat in Congress; Civil War surgeon Dr. Mary Edwards Walker; and writer, composer, educator, and political activist who defended Native Americans’ right to American citizenship, Zitkala-Ša, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, poet, author, and activist Maya Angelou became the first Black woman to join the program when the U.S. Mint made the announcement for the release of the 2022 coins. The I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings author became one of the first two honorees in the American Women Quarters Program, alongside astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel to space.

The American Women Quarters Program began in 2022 and the coins will continue to circulate throughout 2025.