In 1960, after the Cuban revolution, Cruz left her home country, eventually finding a home in New York, where she made numerous recordings with some of the foremost Latin musicians of the day. She collaborated on seven albums with the Tito Puente Orchestra , but sales were disappointingly poor.
In the early 1970s, however, a salsa boom hit New York, as young Latinos rediscovered and celebrated their roots, and at last Cruz was launched into stardom. In 1973, she sang the part...