glorious
Gloria

The queen of pop talks about her family, her roots and her new album

Gloria Estefan is not merely a pop megastar, she is a cultural icon whose personal and professional history redefines the term itself. A Cubana as much as she is an American, Gloria and her music represent the next generation of Latinos whose existence is a synthesis of the history, culture and language of their homeland and that of the United States.

Gloria has sold more than 45 million albums and is the most successful crossover artist in Latin American history. She has won two Grammys and released a total of 10 solo albums. One of her Spanish-language albums, “mi tierra,” sold more than four million copies worldwide, as well as going platinum in the United States, and became the best-selling album in Spain’s history, going platinum 11 times! Her name is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, there is a sculpture of her in the world-famous Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum and she was appointed a member of the U.S. delegation to the 47th Assembly of the United Nations. She has performed for President Clinton and Pope John Paul II. She wrote and performed “Reach,” the official theme song of the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta. She has also been awarded a Hispanic Heritage Award and an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Miami.

This May, she will release her 11th solo album, entitled “Gloria.” True to form, everything she produces is a fusion, and this album is no different. Although it is mainly in English, it has three songs in Spanish and two in French. She has incorporated many different rhythms, from merengue to salsa, and mixed them with dance music to produce an album whcih she describes as “very homogenous from the top to bottom and … totally high energy.”

What is the story behind this woman’s stunning talent and fame? She was born Gloria Maria Fajardo on September 11, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. Before her second birthday she fled with her family to Miami. It was while facing a difficult childhood growing up in a Cuban ghetto near the Orange Bowl in Miami that Gloria turned to music for solace. Her father spent a year and a half in a Cuban prison for his participation in the Bay of Pigs invasion and then served in Vietnam after his release, only to fall terribly ill from exposure to Agent Orange upon his return in Miami. While her mother went to work to support Gloria and her sister, Rebecca, the former tended to her ailing father. Gloria said, “It (music) served as a catharsis for me … I didn’t feel I could try because I thought if I lost a little bit of control, I would lose it all and music was my way of emoting, of letting out feelings.”

As a Cubana raised in Miami, Gloria’s integration of the two cultures was taken to a level most U.S. Latinos raised elsewhere seldom experience. Miami, a town dominated exonomically, politically, culturally and even linguistically by Cubanos, affords its Latino immigrant residents the opportunity to experience the freedoms and economic booms of the United States without suffering the extent of racial and ethnic prejudice they would elsewhere in the United States Gloria says, “I think we really have the best of both worlds.”

She admits it would probably be as difficult for her to leave Miami as it was for her mother to leave Cuba, but does not deny the emotionally difficult predicament this leaves her in: “It’s sad to me that I don’t belong really, ever. I love this country, I feel at home here in Miami, very much so, but I will always be considered an immigrant… I will always be from somewhere else and I can’t even be from tht somewhere else because I can’t visit it. I don’t know where I was born, I’ve never seen the place where I grew up, I’ve never seen the home that gave me birth. Sometimes that saddens me.”

Yet Gloria also believes her immersion in and total understanding of both cultures is one of the reasons she was the first Latina entertainer to really succeed in the mainstream Anglo market and achieve superstar status.

Gloria believes her ethnicity has enabled her to achieve such long lasting succees. “To me, who we are ethnically enriches us and makes us stronger and more beautiful because it really broadens our perspective… I think I’ve been able to show people, really, that it is not a hindrance. On the contrary, I think it’s what has given us the success that we have had through the years and allowed me to grow the way that I have. I think if I had just been another pop singer that came out of the ‘80s, by now, nobody would know who I am.”

Her greatpride in her heritage as not only a Cubana, but also a Latina, is very evident in her lyrics, especially on her Spanish-language albums. The album “Mi Tierra” even has a song, Hablamos El Mismo Idioma, that calls out to all Latinos to overcome our differences and unite as a people that share a similar history, heritage, and language.

So how did Gloria get her start in the music industry?

In 1975, when she was 18 years old, her mother urged her to sing a few songs at a wedding where a local band called “The Miami Latin Boys” was performing. Emilio Estefan, the band’s leader, was extremely impressed and asked her to join his band. When Gloria agreed, with the stipulation that she would only sing on weekends because she was attending school during the week, the band changed its name to “The Miami Sound Machine” and it was not long before they recorded their first album for CBS Discos. In 1984, they released their first crossover album, the English-language “Eyes of Innocence,” whcih produced “Conga” – the only song in history to appear on Billboard’s Pop, Latin, Soul, and Dance charts concurrently.

Ironically enough, Gloria Estefan never dreamed of becoming a performer. Music had always served as a personal outlet for her private emotions. She was studying psychology and had been accepted to study at the Sorbonne in France when her musical career, and Emilio, swept her off her feet. Not only did her encounter with road to stardom, it also brought her her first and only love. After dating for two years, Gloria and Emilio married in 1979. One year later their first child, a son name Nayib, was born and four years ago Gloria gave birth to baby daughter, Emily.

When Gloria talks about Emilio, the love and emotion are evident in her voice. The couple has the reputation of having a “picture perfect” marriage. Together they manage to balance world fame and show business with love and a nurturing, caring family. Gloria tends to speak in terms of “we” and never in terms of “me.”

“We have a great relationship. It’s based on love, first of all. We fell in love before any of this happened so we truly fell in love with each other and not any kind of celebrity status.”

Although Gloria was not looking for a relationship and had not planned to marry until her late thirties, she wed Emilio at 21 years of age. This September they will celebrate their 20^th wedding anniversary. She credits Emilio with being a huge source of motivation in her life and in fact, he was the one who encouraged her to start writing her own songs.

Family is first and foremost for both of them and Gloria asserts that her favorite role in life is motherhood. “The definition for unconditional love has got to be motherhood. It really, for me, is the reason for being.”

They are able to balance such a hectic, time-consuming career with a family by including everybody in everything. Whenever she goes on tour, the whole family goes, too. “This is not just a career, it’s a lifestyle. It’s all encompassing and the only way you can make it work is to incorporate,” says Gloria.

Her success has made Gloria a strong role model for many up-and-coming Latino artists, and influence she sees as an honor and take quite seriously. “I really enjoy being able to offer some inspiration along that line, so that they know they can really do anything they set their minds to do.” In fact, she and Emilio often take promising young singers under their wing and give them the help and guidance needed to turn their talent into success.

Gloria recently did some work with the talented young Mexican singer, Alejandro Fernandez. “Alejandro’s got one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. He’s an amazing singer and not only technically great, but emotionally really comes through... he was a joy to work with, not to mention extremely cute.” Quite a compliment to receive from Gloria!

As for the future, Gloria wants to try her hand at acting and is currently sifting throught the multitude of screenplays being sent her way. She is looking for a small role that interests her and will serve as a potential springboard into larger roles. “I don’t want to lead in the movie, I want to do a small part and get my feet wet, but I would love to be able to expand that part of my career.” Fans of her music shouldn’t worry, though. Gloria insists that music will always remain a central part of her life and career. Thank goodness.

The definition for
unconditional love

love has got to
be motherhood.

It really, for me, is
the reason for being.

© All rights reserved by 1998 Estylo

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Many thanks to Amanda Warnock. You are always so lovely to me!!!