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"She had a tremendous voice, a strong voice, one of the strongest voices I ever heard anyone have, male or female, and she had a tremendous sense of rhythm also," he said. "All of that is a legacy of a generation that we may not see again."
Cruz died in her home at Fort Lee, N.J., just outside New York. Cruz's husband, trumpeter Pedro Knight, was at her side; the pair had celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary Monday, said her publicist, Blanca Lasalle.
Cruz recorded more than 70 albums. She won best salsa album for "La Negra Tiene Tumbao" at last year's Latin Grammy Awards, and won the same award at this year's Grammys. Her other best-known recordings include "Yerberito Moderno" and "Que le Den Candela."
Also called the "diva of Latin song," Cruz remained energetic late into her career, and was popular with both young and old audiences. At last year's Latin Grammys, she gave a hip-shaking performance wearing a frothy blue-and-white headpiece and a tight red dress.
Her alliance with fellow salsa star and "Mambo King" Tito Puente resulted in some of the biggest successes in her career. The two recorded albums and regularly performed together, and they were considered legends of the genre.
Pop and salsa singer Marc Anthony, who recently paid tribute to Cruz at a gala concert, said in a statement: "We are witnessing the end of an era. She is simply irreplaceable and it's just an honor to know that she was a part of my life."
Cruz studied to be a teacher in her native Havana, but was lured into show business when a relative entered her in a radio talent contest, which she won. She studied music at the Havana Conservatory and performed at the world-famous Tropicana nightclub.
In the 1950s, Cruz became famous with the legendary Afro-Cuban group La Sonora Matancera. She left Cuba after its 1959 revolution for the United States in 1960, and never returned.
"She became a symbol of quality and strength, and she became a symbol of Afro-Cuban music," Blades said. "You couldn't be a fan of Celia and not be a fan of Afro-Cuban music, because she was Afro-Cuban music."
Cruz dazzled not only with her voice but also her personality. Always flashing a wide smile, she gave an energetic stage show, punctuated often by her trademark shout, "Azucar!" in the middle of a song. The word, which means sugar in Spanish, became her catch phrase after a waiter apparently asked her, to her surprise, if she wanted sugar in her coffee.
Cruz also was a member of the Fania All-Stars, the Afro-Cuban music collective that recorded for the Fania record label in the 1970s, along with Blades and Willie Colon. She dazzled listeners with fiery songs such as "Quimbara."
"Celia Cruz could take any song and make it unforgettable. She transcended the material," Blades said. "With Celia, even the most simple of songs became injected with her personality and her vigor."
Blades noted that although Cruz was typically the only woman excelling in the salsa field, she was never intimidated.
"She was a proud woman in a male-dominated business where she excelled because she had class herself."
In 1987, Cruz received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Several years later, the city of Miami gave Calle Ocho, the main street of its Cuban community, the honorary name of Celia Cruz Way.
She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Institution and in 1994, then-President Clinton honored her with an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Blades said Cruz's music and the legacy she left behind would live on.
"The real death begins when you forget," he said. "No one is going to forget Celia."
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