Celia Cruz to be first Afro-Latina woman to appear on U.S. quarter

Driving the news: The U.S. Mint chose Cruz and four other women for its 2024 American Women Quarters Program, according to a statement issued last week.

• Per the Mint, the others are: Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color in Congress; Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War-era surgeon and women's rights advocate; Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist, lawyer; and Zitkala-Ša, a writer, composer, educator and political activist for Native Americans.

What's next: The federal agency will release designs for the new quarters in mid-2023.

The big picture: Born in Havana in 1925, Cruz was one of the most popular Latin music artists of the 20th century.

• She recorded over 80 albums and earned numerous awards — including a National Medal of Arts, multiple Grammy awards and a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

What they're saying: “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 Gibson said in a statement.