Salsa, but With a Daring New Style : Pop music: ‘Queen of Salsa’ Celia Cruz’s new release features an untraditional tropical flavor that caught some by surprise. In her fifth decade as a star, she headlines at Universal Amphitheatre Saturday.

By the time they enter their fifth decade of stardom, most pop performers are winding down--doing the old favorites on stage and recycling the long successful sound on record. The amount of new ideas or passion is normally minimal.

Yet Celia Cruz--the undisputed “Queen of Salsa” for as long as anyone can remember--seems, after a three-year lull, to be picking up the pace again.

The Havana native, who declines to give her age, will headline the Universal Amphitheatre on Saturday as part of a world tour that will also include shows in Japan and South America.

The focus of the tour will be music from her most daring album in years--an RMM Records collection titled “Azucar Negra” (“Black Sugar”) that features an untraditional tropical style that has caught many listeners by surprise.

“I will die singing, and I don’t plan to retire, unless the people retire me by not going to my shows or God takes away my abilities,” said Cruz, who seems invigorated by the new work.

“I would say the album is a blend of tropical music with a Miami flavor. There are boleros , merengue , pop. One song, ‘Te Busco’ (“I’m Searching for You”), has been described as a bachata , but for me it’s a bolero .

“Some Puerto Rican stations won’t play it because they say it’s not their style. Well, I believe that if you don’t change you get stuck. It’s nice to sometimes do something different than what you usually do.”

Cruz’s Amphitheatre concert, on a bill that also includes Colombia’s explosive Orquesta Guayacan and New York’s talented new-generation salsero Marc Anthony, is one of the year’s most interesting Latin showcases.

After overcoming some initial resistance when she made her debut in 1950 with Cuba’s legendary Sonora Matancera orchestra, Cruz went on to become a massively popular and acclaimed artist. She has made more than 50 albums and received hundreds of musical awards, including a Grammy in 1990 for her collaboration with Ray Barreto on the album “Con Ritmo en el Corazon” (“With Rhythm in the Heart”).

Cruz, one of 14 children born to a poor family, earned her first pair of shoes after charming a tourist with her singing. She continued to concentrate on singing as a teen-ager and got her big break as a professional when she replaced Puerto Rican singer Mirta Silva as the lead vocalist for the Sonora Matancera.

Celia’s dream of playing with the best Cuban orchestra was spoiled by the furious phone calls to radios and letters to orchestra director Rogelio Martinez, complaining about Celia’s voice and demanding Silva’s return.

“I felt very bad because I really needed that job,” said Cruz in a phone conversation from her home in New York. “Mirta was going back to her country anyway, and I didn’t have anywhere to go. I knew that somehow I had to stick around.

“To be in an orchestra like Sonora Matancera, I had to persevere, and that’s what I did. Rogelio always supported me, and I finally succeeded in a situation that would’ve destroyed most people.”

Gradually, the fans realized that this strong contralto was a true phenomenon, and she managed to record 15 albums at the same record label that had previously rejected her because of the argument that “women don’t sell.”

Cruz moved to the United States in 1960, along with the orchestra, and became a citizen. In 1962, she married Pedro Knight, the orchestra’s main trumpet player, who left the group to manage her. She often salutes their relationship with sweet, tender references in her music.

Her widely admired collaborations over the years with Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco and Sonora Poncena showed that Cruz could adapt and excel in different styles. She further demonstrated her willingness to experiment by working with such other varied figures as David Byrne (on his 1989 “Rei Momo” album) and Argentina’s ska-tropical rockers Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

As is the case with most of the Cuban exiles, Cruz does not keep close tabs on post-revolutionary Cuban music. Yet, she acknowledges the value of contemporary Cuban musicians.

“Cuba has always had great musicians and athletes,” she said. “The fact that I don’t support their cause doesn’t mean that I’m going to deny how great they are. It’s them who always say that they have 25,000 singers like me.

“I’ve never heard Silvio Rodriguez, but I do like Pablo Milanes’ voice and the group Irakere. Of course, I listen to that when somebody gives me a record. I don’t buy their music, just as they don’t buy mine.”

Meanwhile, Cruz looks forward to touring and recording indefinitely. “As long as I have a tight schedule,” she said, “that means I’m still running just fine.”