Celia Cruz may be gone, but she’ll be remembered in a big way at the inaugural Latin American Music Awards.
The late Cuban-American salsa singer/performer and seven-time Grammy winner, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 77, will receive a musical tribute produced by Sergio George at the Latin AMAs.
George, a tropical music legend, has rounded up a diverse group of performers to honor the late Queen of Salsa’s legacy during the October 8 telecast on Telemundo, airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Colombian sensation Maluma, princess of salsa India, Mexican icon Yuri and singer/actress Aymée Nuviola — who portrays Cruz in the new Telemundo series Celia — will sing a medley of her most beloved hits.
Presenting the tribute are Puerto Rican actors Jeimy Osorio and Modesto Lacén, who play Cruz and her husband/manager Pedro Knight during their younger years on Celia (Nuviola and renowned theater actor Willie Denton play the couple later in life).
Slated for an October 13 premiere, Celia chronicles Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso‘s evolution from a shy teen in pre-revolution Havana, Cuba, to a larger-than-life figure that brought the world to its feet with the power of her voice, inimitable style and exuberant presence. Along the way, Cruz battled racism, sexism and defied expectations of what a black female musician could achieve in the ’50s.
Other performers confirmed for the Latin AMAs include Paulina Rubio, Daddy Yankee, Jesse & Joy, Reik, Farruko, Fonseca, Shaggy, Lil Jon, Yandel, Natalie La Rose, Jencarlos Canela, Luis Coronel, CD9, Gloria Trevi, Gerardo Ortiz and Il Volo.
