Tours get in the way: Estefan says this is final
Saturday, September 18, 2004

``Final tour syndrome'' has become something of a joke in the music business: Often ``final'' is anything but.

So when Miami's most famous sound maker, Gloria Estefan, held a press conference in August and announced her plans for a final concert tour, many wondered whether this was a Cure or Cher move, where an end would not come at all, or the finale would be so interminable as to be meaningless.

During a media conference call a couple of weeks later, however, Estefan reiterated that her final Live and Re-Wrapped tour, now at the FleetCenter for its Boston stop, is precisely that.

Still, she is not, she insists, retiring.

``I would love to do one-offs, like I have done for the eight years that I have been off touring,'' Estefan said.

 With less time on the road, Estefan is looking forward to having more time to spend writing and recording, both for herself and for other artists.

Creating her new CD ``Unwrapped'' was something of a return to the emotional roots of making music, said the 47-year-old.

``I wanted to capture what made music exciting for me. It reminded me of the reason I joined the band,'' she said, referring to husband and producer Emilio Estefan Jr.'s Miami Sound Machine.

While the Latin pop icon adores making music, she places a higher priority on family than on fame. That is one reason why Estefan no longer wants to spend her life touring.

Another is the physical requirement of performing night after night.

``It's physically like training for the Olympics but the event is two months long,'' she said. ``My body is my instrument, I sing every song; music moves me physically so I move around a lot. My tour routine is working out and doing the show. I can't even eat the way I'd love to because I have to watch my weight! The physical demand of the tour is what I'll miss the least.''