LONG LIVE THE QUEEN:

Queen of Salsa lives on a year after her death: On the anniversary of Celia Cruz's death from cancer, a memorial takes place in New York and fans pay homage with books, films, even a musical (LYDIA MARTIN, 7/16/04, Miami Herald)

Dozens of purple roses will appear today at Celia Cruz's star on Calle Ocho.

Her favorite, they are from her husband, Pedro Knight, who this morning will be at a private memorial at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx marking the anniversary of his wife's death.

It was a year ago today that the Queen of Salsa was stopped, at 77, by brain cancer. But she was hardly silenced.

One of the Latin world's greatest legends, Cruz lives on in seemingly endless projects, some already out, some in the works. There are CDs, books, video documentaries, a film, a musical.

And slated to open in 2005: an exhibit at the Smithsonian featuring Cruz's dresses, wigs, shoes, sheet music and other artifacts.

''She spans half a century of music,'' said Miami filmmaker Joe Cardona. He has been asked by the Smithsonian to work on video for the exhibit, Cardona said. ``She was the thread through Cuban music -- and through salsa, which was hugely important.''

Cardona has spent six years working on a film about Cruz that he hopes will find theatrical distribution next year.

Also planned for 2005 is Assuca!, a musical about Cruz's life starring Cuban singer Lucrecia. Producing will be Oscar Gomez, a longtime collaborator of Cruz's and the producer of the CD Dios Disfrute a La Reina (God Enjoy the Queen), out this week on Universal Latino and featuring Cruz recordings that had never been released.

Knight seems faded since his wife's death. But he is closely watching most of the projects and will spend the weekend in New York doing book signings for her just-out autobiography, Celia: My Life (Rayo, $24.95). Then he'll travel to Miami. Wednesday he appears at Books & Books in Coral Gables, and Thursday he will be at Borders on Kendall Drive.

The autobiography joins the unauthorized biography Azucar! (Reed Press, $19.95) by Eduardo Marceles. Published in June, it made minor, if clichéd, waves by suggesting Cruz sang for Fidel Castro. Though in her autobiography Cruz spoke of the night she and other Cuban artists were roped into performing for Castro, she refused to stick around after her number and make nice, so she didn't get paid.

''If I have to belittle myself to make money, I'd rather not have any,'' she told the artistic director who docked her.

Here's a report on her funeral last year by our jazz critic, Glenn Dryfoos.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 16, 2004 10:35 AM