Queen of Latin pop sets sail on final tour
The first stop on Gloria Estefan’s Live and Re-Wrapped Summer 2004 Tour is today at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, a fact that astonished some of the national media entertainment writers who participated in a July 23 nationwide teleconference to promote the tour.
To the hotshots of entertainment writing, the city of Hidalgo and Dodge Arena seem out of place on a concert tour list that includes stops in Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia and renowned venues like the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York.
Reporters posed the question, “Why Hidalgo, Texas, a city of less than 9,000 residents?’
“It’s right in the middle of two countries,” Estefan said. “It’s a city that has access to both my Anglo and Hispanic fans. They told me it was a great-sounding venue and we wanted to start in Texas.”
Though Estefan and her husband, Emilio Jr., are practically synonymous with Miami, where they are one of the city’s most beloved and high profile couples, Texas also holds a special place in her heart.
It was no fluke that the first stop on Estefan’s current and last tour is in the Lone Star State.
Estefan and her parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba when she was just two years old. And while Miami was the family’s first stop it wasn’t the only one.
For Estefan’s family, freedom from Fidel Castro’s regime wasn’t immediate. Almost as soon as the family arrived on U.S. soil, her father turned around and went off to fight in the Bay of Pigs invasion. In that debacle, her father was captured and held in Cuba for two years as a political prisoner.
It was a difficult time for Estefan and her mother, who found themselves in a foreign land without their father and husband, respectively. Stability came only after Estefan’s father was released from his Cuban prison, returned to the States and joined the U.S. Army. During his tour of duty, the family was stationed in San Antonio. Estefan said she has fond memories of that time. After all the uncertainty, “it was the first time we had a family life,” she said.
“Texas was the beginning for me,” Estefan said. “My first school experience in the United States was there (in San Antonio). I learned English in San Antonio and my sister was born there. I had a lot of beginnings there.” Estefan returned to San Antonio last year to reminisce and to show her now 10-year old daughter Emily her old stomping grounds.
“San Antonio gives me a warm feeling,” Estefan said. “I had such an overwhelming feeling of being safe there. It was a beautiful time in my life.” This is Estefan’s first tour in eight years — and her last. Unlike such artists as Eric Clapton and Cher, whose “final tours” have made the public skeptical about the true finality of such concert series, Estefan vows this is really it.
“I’m not the kind of person that announces these kinds of things (without meaning them),” she said. “I don’t like drama. If we were going to reconsider, I wouldn’t have called it the final tour.” Estefan said she just wanted to give her fans the heads-up.
“I didn’t want to turn around and say, ‘By the way, that was the last one,’ “ she said. “I felt that it was only fair to my fans for them to know that this is their last shot to check me out in their hometown because my fans are really loyal. When I did Vegas, they came from all over the world to see that show, and I know that won’t stop, but I know some fans can’t afford that.”The end of touring, however, doesn’t mean the end of Estefan’s career. “I am not going to stop performing altogether,” she said. “I am not retiring. Just the evolution of my life and the way things are, I can foresee a lot of other things that are going to take up a lot of time.”
Estefan said she expects to have her plate full with several commitments. She plans to take on a stronger behind-the-scenes role, like her husband, who is best known for his production skills and writing material for other artists.
She also looks forward to wrapping up a biopic with 1950s and ’60s recording artist Connie Francis, who is best known for songs such as Stupid Cupid, Lipstick on your Collar, Who’s Sorry Now?, and her biggest hit, Where the Boys Are. Estefan and Francis are co-writing the screenplay and Estefan will star. “We’re closing in on a first draft and I’m very happy with the direction it’s going in,” Estefan said. “We’ve been working on it for 21/2 years and I think we are very close to something we would take to the studio.”
Estefan said she also plans to start writing an autobiography due to the high volume of mail she receives about her life, particularly the near-fatal bus accident she and her husband were involved in back in 1990, as well as other aspects of her life such as immigrating from Cuba and her lasting marriage.
Estefan’s latest album, Unwrapped, her first English-language CD in seven years, is further proof that she is not slowing down. For the first time, she tried her luck at producing, working with her husband and long time friend and producer Sebastian Krys. The album also contains collaborations with other well-known artists, such as Stevie Wonder (Into You) and Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders (One Name).
Next spring, Estefan also plans to participate in a reunion with Los Dinos, the band that backed Selena Quintanilla Perez during her illustrious career. Los Dinos and other guests are set to mark the 10th Anniversary of Selena’s death with a tribute concert. “I would love to pay tribute to Selena,” she said. “I’d met her before that tragedy and she was on the brink of crossing over and doing amazing things. She really had the talent, she had everything. I was very, very sad when that happened.”
Widely recognized as the “Queen of Latin pop,” the five-time Grammy winner and singer, songwriter, producer, actress, philanthropist and humanitarian, her place is history is secure. Nothing seems out of reach for Estefan. Still, there are some things that are out of her hands.
Her greatest hope is to see a free Cuba during her lifetime. “It’s the one thing that I really dream about,” she said. If Castro’s regime collapsed, would she consider going back to Cuba and doing a tour there?
“You better believe it, baby,” she said. “But that wouldn’t be a tour. It would be a gigantic, celebratory concert that I would love to do free. I would definitely do that. That would be a euphoric, euphoric experience for me.” And though she and other Latin music artists have made strides in American mainstream radio, Estefan said, “We’re still far, far away from making the kind of impact that we could.”
“The first time I ever heard Celia Cruz outside the United States was in Holland in 1984 and she was played in Spanish on Dutch mainstream radio,” she said. “That made me so proud. “There’s a lot we have to offer and I just hope that door gets pushed open a little more and that your ethnicity is less and less important and it’s just the music that’s important. I’d love to see that continue to evolve.”
Gloria Estefan kicks off final tour in Hidalgo
July 31,2004
HIDALGO — Gloria Estefan has a reputation for being down-toearth and charismatic, and those who attended her concert Friday night at Dodge Arena found out why. At times, her show resembled a great party in the Caribbean; at times, one of those rewarding nights when two close friends stay up late, sharing childhood stories and dreams.
Estefan addressed the crowd as though it was full of old friends, talking early and often to the audience. Accompanied by a large ensemble of dancers and musicians, the "Queen of Latin pop" electrified the sold-out crowd of 5,600 with songs old and new, in English, fast and slow, numbers such as "Turn the Beat Around," "Hoy," and "I’ll Do Anything for You."
Estefan set the tone for the concert opening with her English hit, "Get On Your Feet."
The petite Estefan made her appearance from behind a gold chiffon curtain that was part of an elaborate set, wearing a formfitting white outfit.
True to her character, Estefan didn’t forget to acknowledge her supporting cast, including her husband of 26 years, Emilio Jr.
Estefan gave an extended "Thank you " to dancer Liz Ramos, a McAllen native.
Estefan’s rags-to-riches story is appealing to many. She and her family left Cuba to escape Fidel Castro’s regime when she was only a toddler with almost nothing in terms of material items.
And though her family embraced their new country, Estefan said a part of them still dreamed of returning to Cuba someday.
Estefan shared an audio recording of her conversing and singing with her late father, Manuel Fajardo, when she was 9 years old. Estefan and her papi used to sit around and play Cuban folk songs on the guitar on lazy
afternoons.
Linda Vallejo, of Weslaco, said that while she enjoys Estefan’s music, she was drawn to the concert because of the singer’s strength of character.
"I’m really here because I admire her so much," she said.
"She’s an icon for Hispanics, an icon for all Americans, really. She’s living the American dream."
Jim Reese, 27, of Flour Bluff, who plays the drums for leisure, said he remembers being glued to MTV, enthralled by the percussion used in the 1980s Miami Sound Machine songs and music videos.
"My friends and I were all rockers but were still fans of Miami Sound Machine because of all the great percussion work that they did," he said. "I also had a crush on Gloria, of course. She’s beautiful." Estefan wrapped up the night with arguably her biggest hit, "Conga." Hidalgo was the first stop on Estefan’s Live & Rewrapped Tour, which is also expected to be the final tour of her career.
Estefan speaks after concert
August 01, 2004
HIDALGO — Gloria Estefan doesn’t normally grant interviews after concerts, but Friday, the night of her first concert tour date in more than eight years and the first stop on her final tour, Live & Rewrapped, clearly was a special occasion.
Buzz surrounding the tour was heavy from day one and intensified when Estefan announced it would be her last. Friday’s concert at Dodge Arena not only was covered heavily by local media from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, but also by media from across the country, including two representatives from Estefan’s hometown of Miami.
According to Estefan’s staff, she doesn’t give interviews while on tour because she needs to save her voice. But she gave a brief news conference late Friday night.
"It was a great kickoff to the tour," Estefan said, in response to her performance. "I’m thrilled to have such an auspicious beginning here in a place that is a part of my life."
"I even got my blessing," she added. "It rained like crazy before the show."
Texas is a special place to Estefan because she and her family finally experienced a "normal " family life here for the first time after leaving Cuba. While her father was in the military, he was stationed in San Antonio, where the singer began school and first learned to speak English.
Estefan said being in a bicultural area like the Rio Grande Valley was also rewarding.
"Being in an area where two countries, like the United States and Mexico come together, very much represents my life and who I am," she said. "I’ve always said that my heart is Latino and my head is American, because I’ve lived here since I was 2."
But the question of the night centered on Estefan’s decision to stop touring.
"Although I feel very energetic and I’m really in great shape, it’s like boot camp, being on the road, singing live," she said. "My daughter (Emily) is almost a young lady. She’s going to be 10 years old in December and I want to be there to do the day-in and day-out. I want to enjoy that, because it goes so quickly. I have a big one already — he’ll (Nayib) be 24 in September.
Stops on Estefan’s U.S. tour include Washington, D.C., New York, Minneapolis and Providence, R.I., with the tour ending Sept. 27 in Miami. She plans to continue booking dates around the world after the American tour wraps. She was asked if she would perform in Mexico and her response was "por supuesto," (of course).
Estefan was also asked about her thoughts on the Valley, but she admitted she spent most of her time in Hidalgo running through her show.
"I loved it for what I saw of it," she said. "I spent most of the time here in the arena although we spent the day searching for the largest bee hive that they said was here and then I think we figured out we were in it all along because of the (Rio Grande Valley) Killer Bees that play here."
Estefan’s show was very personal and heartfelt. She shared stories from her childhood with the crowd and incorporated music from throughout her life into the concert. Those who attended the show likely left Dodge Arena feeling as if they knew her better as a person. And while the personal information was a plus for the concertgoers, it was at moments, difficult for Estefan to share those details, she said.
Now, the first show of the American leg of her tour is behind her and the finality of her touring career is beginning to sink in. That, combined with the experience of reminiscing about days gone by and a tribute to her late father, stirs Estefan’s emotions.
"I feel sentimental every day of my life because I’m so lucky to do what I love to do," she said. "I can’t think about it, though, because then I can’t sing. If I let myself feel the emotion, I’m not going to be able to transmit it, because I can’t sing. I’ll get a knot in my throat like it happened a couple of times in rehearsal. I gotta get over it and then just focus on the happiness that I have being out there and sharing that energy and knowing I’ve gotten more than my share in this lifetime.
"I never imagined this because I was painfully shy as a young girl," she said. "I was quite happy just to be alone in my room, playing guitar. So all of this is cake and it’s been wonderful."
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