West Chester medallic artist Phebe Hemphill designed the commemorative quarter honoring the Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz, writes Rosa Cartagena for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Hemphill crafted the portraits and landscapes on countless coins for the U.S. Mint. She has designed coins with images of activists Harriet Tubman, Alice Paul, Presidents Barack Obama and Calvin Coolidge, among others. 

This year she focused on Cruz, the late Afro Cuban superstar. 

Cruz was born in Havana in 1925. Her hits include La Negra Tiene Tumbao and La Vida Es Un Carnaval. Her Grammy-winning career lasted for nearly six decades. She is also behind the unforgettable catchphrase, “Azúcar!” which Hemphill included in her design of the commemorative quarter. 

The coin is part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters program. Hemphill depicts the singer in a ruffly Cuban Rumba dress with mic in one hand and the other extending in an invitation to viewers to dance. 

“I sculpted the main body, the hands, and, for the most part, the dress in the traditional clay and plaster, but when it comes to the details on the dress — the ribbon, the lace edging — that was all done in the digital software,” said Hemphill. 

Read more about Phebe Hemphill designing a quarter to honor Celia Cruz in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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