By Rachel Brodsky / Grammys – October 4, 2019
“You guys are going to give me a heart attack!” the Queen Of Salsa exclaimed as she accepted her golden gramophone in the year 2000
In the year 2000, at the first-ever Latin GRAMMY Awards, Cuban salsa icon Celia Cruz accepted a golden gramophone for Best Salsa Performance for her famed live album A Night Of Salsa.
Dancing up to the stage to accept her award, the blue-haired performer exclaimed in Spanish, “This is really a surprise! You guys are going to give me a heart attack!”
“I would like to thank God because he has given me the opportunity to be here with you,” she continued. “I want to thank the Academy. I want to thank my husband Pedro Knight, who is here tonight. And for this award, I want to dedicate it to and thank La India, who worked with me on this album. To the Maestro, Johnny Pacheco, my divine God. To my brother, wo has left us but tonight, Tito Puente.”
Watch Cruz’s acceptance speech above in our latest edition of GRAMMY Rewind.
