Celia Cruz Salsas into Museums across the United States.

The traveling version of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s “¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz,” exhibition debuted at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles on Aug.17 and is scheduled to continue to travel through 2008. The exhibition explores the life of legendary Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz (1925–2003) and her impressive career. “¡Azúcar! will remain on view in Los Angeles through Nov. 5 and then open at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach on Feb. 9, 2007. It will be in Miami through April 30. Other venues in New York and Texas are also expected to host the exhibition.

“¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz,” opened in Washington, D.C. on May 18, 2005 and was on view for a year with funding from Morgan Stanley as the presenting sponsor of the exhibition and with additional support from the Smithsonian Latino Center. Morgan Stanley is also the national sponsor for the traveling show with an additional contribution from the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“Celia Cruz embodied the American dream and the story of her life and career will allow people around the country an opportunity to explore the themes of American identity and the many contributions Latinos have made to American culture and popular music,” said museum Director Brent D. Glass.

Over the course of a career that spanned six decades and took her from humble beginnings in Havana, Cuba, to a world-renowned artist, Cruz became the undisputed “Queen of Latin Music.” Combining a piercing and powerful voice with a larger-than-life personality and stage costumes, she was one of the few women to succeed in the male-dominated world of salsa music. Salsa was music born in New York City of Cuban and other Afro-Caribbean mixed musical genres. In her personification of salsa, Cruz came to represent all Latinos.

The traveling version of “¡Azúcar!” closely follows the original exhibition and highlights important moments in Cruz’s life and career through photographs, personal documents, costumes, rare footage, music videos and music. The exhibition includes items from her childhood and early appearances with the band, La Sonora Matancera, in Cuba. Among the featured costumes is a dress worn during a performance in Cuba in the 1950s and the dress designed by Narciso Rodriguez that she wore at her last public appearance. The exhibition’s title, “¡Azúcar!”—meaning sugar—is taken from her famous rallying cry.

To view the virtual exhibition and for updates on the traveling version of “¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz” visit http://americanhistory.si.edu/celiacruz.