Posted: July 16, 2003 at 4:15 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Singer Celia Cruz, known as the "Queen of Salsa," has died.

Cruz died of a brain tumor at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey, according to her publicist. Cruz had had surgery for the tumor in December but her health faltered. She was 77.

Cruz got her big break with the Afro-Cuban group La Sonora Matancera in the late 1950s. She left Cuba for the U-S in 1960 and is credited with bringing salsa music to a wider audience.

Her alliance with fellow salsa star Tito Puente (PWEN'-tay) generated some of the biggest success of her career.

Cruz recorded more than 70 albums and won best salsa album at last year's Latin Grammys. The main street of Miami's Cuban community was given the honorary name of Celia Cruz Way.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)