Cuban musicians, US ambassador pay homage to 'Queen of Salsa' Celia Cruz

HAVANA (Reuters) -A small group of Cuban musicians, together with the top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, paid homage in Havana to salsa icon Celia Cruz, who died in 2003 but would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Tuesday. The discreet ceremony, which took place in a Catholic church in central Havana, came after Cuba's National Center for Popular Music last week canceled another homage organized by well-known theater group "El Publico" at a local music hall.  The state-run entity did not say why it had called off the event in a brief statement on social media. The decision nonetheless prompted accusations of censorship from some fans of the so-called Queen of Salsa, who left Cuba shortly after Fidel Castro's rise to power and had long criticized the island's communist-run government.  U.S. Chief of Mission in Havana Mike Hammer attended the ceremony on Tuesday, shaking hands with musicians and paying homage to the top female singer who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1977.  “She … brought joy and hope, but also wanted freedom for Cuba, and liberty, something she cherished, something we all want to see, so for me is a great honor to be able to participate in this beautiful ceremony." Hammer, a career U.S. diplomat who arrived in Cuba in 2024, has traveled the island widely to meet with political dissidents, raising the ire of the Cuban government, which accuses him of seeking to foment unrest.  He has denied that accusation. Cruz was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the U.S. Congress in 2005 and won three U.S. Grammys and four Latin Grammys, making her one of the most celebrated Latin American musicians of the 20th century.   Her decision to leave Cuba following the Cuban revolution, and later statements in opposition to Cuba's government, made clear her political stance, but her politics rarely surfaced in her music.    (Reporting by Mario Fuentes and Anett Rios in Havana, Writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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