Gloria (still) in excelsis

There are singers who can captivate a community. There are vocalists whose sound can penetrate deeply into your soul. There are entertainers who can mesmerize, enlighten and entertain, all in one breath.

That’s how Gloria Estefan of the (disbanded) Miami Sound Machine (led by her keyboardist husband Emilio Estefan) is described by the background material from SonyBMG which has just released Gloria’s latest album called The Essential Gloria Estefan. With more than 70 million in worldwide record sales, she’s also touted as "the most successful Latin crossover artist in the history of pop music."

According to her biography, she was born Gloria Fajardo in 1957 (or 1958) in Havana, Cuba. Her mother was a schoolteacher. Her father, Jose Manuel Fajardo, was a bodyguard to President Fulgencio Batista when Gloria was born. Soon, Fidel Castro and others overthrew Batista and installed a Communist government in Cuba. The Fajardo family fled to the US where Fajardo was recruited by the CIA into a band of anti-Castro Cubans sent to invade Cuba. The invasion took place on April 17, l961, at the Bay of Pigs. It failed, and Fajardo was taken prisoner. After President John F. Kennedy won the release of the prisoners, Fajardo returned to the US and joined the army and served two years in the Vietnam War. His daughter Gloria grew up in Miami, Florida, where she started her phenomenal career.

The rest is history.

In 1990, Gloria suffered a broken vertebra in her back when the bus the Estefan family was in collided with a trailer on a snowy highway in Pennsylvania. After an extensive physical therapy, intense determination and the support of her family and fans, Gloria made what’s described as a miraculous comeback.

As a solo artist, Gloria continues to make musical history.

Conversations recently did a 20-minute exclusive phone interview with Gloria. Here are excerpts:

The title of your new album is The Essential Gloria Estefan. What is the essential Gloria Estefan?

"Oh, that’s a good question because what I would consider essential may be different than what my record company and the fans might have in mind. But when you do a retrospective of 20 years like this (album) and realize that you have had so many hit singles, it’s really an honor. There’s a couple of songs that I wrote, one is called Along Came You for my daughter Emily; and the other, Nayib’s Song (I Am Here For You) for my son. Both are in the ‘slow disc.’ I put them in even if they were not singles or hits because for me my being a mother is an essential part of who I am."

Oh, that’s nice!

"What I also love about this album is that one disc is completely uptempo and dance, so you can put it on and have a party, or simply when you’re in the mood to dance; and the other disc consists of ballads, most of which I wrote. So it shows a lot about me as a writer. That’s, I think, why they call the album ‘essential’."

Note: Selections in the "fast disc" include Dr. Beal, Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Heaven’s What I Feel, Everlasting Love, You’ll Be Mine (Party Time – Rosabel’s Fiesta Edit), Get On Your Feet, Go Away, Don’t Let This Moment End, No Me Dejes De Queter, 1-2-3, Bad Boy, Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Voice), Live For Loving You, Si Señor, Oye, Seal Our Fate, Turn The Beat Around, Mi Tierra and Conga. And those in the "slow disc": Can’t Stay Away From You; Don’t Wanna Lose You; Anything For You; Falling in Love (Uh-Oh); Words Get In The Way; Cuts Both Ways; Here We Are; If We Were Lovers; Reach; Music Of My Heart; I See Your Smile; I’m Not Giving You Up; Wrapped; Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me; Coming Out Of The Dark; and Always Tomorrow. Both discs are released by SonyBMG.

How different is your music now from it was 20 years ago?

"Well, if you compare my album even as late as two years ago, I think as a writer I am much more at the forefront. I wrote all the lyrics and lots of the music on that album. It shows humor of the writer side of me. But I have evolved since then. We still love dance music, we still love what we used to do, I still find it fun and exciting. But I think I’ve grown more along the lines of what I love to do.

How do you reinvent yourself through the years?

"Well, fortunately, I am bilingual and I have really two cultures. So when you have that to draw on, you are able to write from one extreme to the other, or anywhere in-between. If you look at my discography, you will notice that one of my favorite albums is Gloria which is totally dance-oriented, with very sensual lyrics; and then there’s Mi Tierra which is totally roots-oriented and it really promoted our culture worldwide through music, and that’s important for me and also for people of Cuba to know that even though we were in exile and I grew up in the States, our culture and our music are very much a part of my life."

It’s as if you never left home even if actually you cannot, because you don’t want to go home again.

"I’ve also been on B.B. King’s album where I sang blues with him. I’ve done music with Quincy Jones and the Three Tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras), so as an artist I’ve had a chance to experiment and grow, and I felt comfortable with it. It’s always fun for an artist to grow. And I’ve been lucky to be able to do that."

And you’ve been helping keep Latin music alive.

"Well, that and introducing it to people who may not have heard it. And also, working with young Latin talents like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira...that’s very important to me and an honor to me."

And being an inspiration to them...

"...yes, that’s a beautiful thing!"

And what can you say about Gloria Estefan wannabes?

"I think it’s great! I think anybody who can inspire you to do something that you love and make you believe that you can do it, I think it’s also an honor to be considered in that light. I always take that very seriously and I appreciate it very much."

How do you maintain your clean image, something not every artist can do?

"Well, you know, in the first place I’m a pretty private person. But I can assure you that I’m no saint by any means of the imagination. You know, we go to parties and we drink like any other people. But I think the key word is balance. I’ve been married (to keyboardist Emilio Estefan) for 28 years; we’ve been together for 30 years. I had my son when I was very young and my priority has always been my family. My husband has been very supportive. We live a very normal life, something which may be boring to some people. But it’s a great life! We travel a lot. My son is 26 and my daughter is 11. Family is the center of our lives. We try to stay out of the tabloids."

Just how normal is the "normal" life of a Gloria Estefan?

"I tell you...We wake up early in the morning, we take our daughter to school, both Emilio and I, we come home and then we work out together. He does his thing, I do mine. We happen to run a very big business. We have seven restaurants (five in Miami and two in the Mexican airport) and we are working on our third hotel. We are expanding our business; we still write and record. I have a Spanish album coming out next year. See? My life revolves around family and work. Pretty normal, isn’t it? We do pretty normal things. For fun, we take lots of vacation; we go to the movies like everybody else."

I’m curious: What kind of music do you listen to?

"My kind of music do I listen to? Oh my God, everything! I love Brazilian music, I bought a lot of South African music when we were there; I love Latin music and music that’s popular now, most of them introduced to me by my daughter. My taste in music is very eclectic. There’s very few music that I don’t like. But what I like most is Brazilian music."

Any favorite song?

"To name just one song is impossible. There are too many artists that I love. It depends on my mood. That’s what’s beautiful about music. There’s every kind for every mood."

Do you inject politics into your music?

"Well, not so much politics. A couple my songs have a social commentary, like Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Voice). I really can’t escape from politics because my father was a political prisoner in Cuba; he went to Vietnam. But I try to stay away from politics as much as possible."

The lyrics of Oye Mi Canto include the sentence "I want my Cuba free"...

‘It’s in my Gloria album and it’s true, I want Cuba to be free and I do very much. Oye Mi Canto talks about freedom of expression and freedom to be who you want to be. You know, Cuba is kind of stuck in a time warp and I wish that it has the same opportunities that most of the world has."

You haven’t been to Cuba in a long time. What do you miss most about Cuba?

"First of all, I miss being able to see where I was born, be immersed in my history, actually have a nation that I can visit because wherever I go I’m from somewhere else, no matter what...even if I’m an exile. I feel sad that I’ve performed for every nationality you can imagine except Cuban. I mean, there are Cubans in the audience but I’ve never sung for a truly Cuban audience. I’ve sung for a Filipino audience, Italians, Germans, Americans, almost all nationalities, but never for Cubans. You know, I would love to have that connection to the past. I don’t need anything from Cuba but I do want Cuba to be free. Yes, I miss having a homeland."

There’s always a longing for home, right?

"Not so much a longing for (Cuba) because to me, home really is Miami where I’ve been since I was two years old. But there is definitely a longing for my identity, my cultural identity."

Speaking of identity, you were quoted by a Time story as having said, "I have the best of both worlds. I have a Cuban heart and an American head and it’s a good balance." You’re lucky!

"Yes, I’m lucky because it offers me the opportunity to be able to expand evolution-wise. But I would never go back to live in Cuba; that would be very tough for me because I don’t have a lot in common with the people who live there now. But I really would love just to visit and see where my ancestors and my ancestry come from. But living in Miami is like living in Latin America and still being in the US."

You did have a chance to visit Cuba when The Pope (John Paul II) visited the country years ago. You were invited but you declined the invitation.

"Well, I declined because it would have turned into a political situation for me. The Pope was there on a spiritual mission, the Cubans needed The Pope there...Cubans love The Pope. I didn’t want to be there and say something against the government. Honestly, they wouldn’t have let me do that."

So what would make you go back to Cuba, even only for a visit?

"No. They wouldn’t let me in there. I’m persona non grata."

How does it feel being declared persona non grata by your own country?

"Well, I’m proud of it. I was declared persona non grata not by the country but by a terrorist regime. But I know that Cubans love me and my music."

On a lighter note now...You did a movie called Music of the Heart with Meryl Streep. How did you feel about the experience. Would you like to do another movie again?

"Yes, I would love to. I did one with Andy Garcia called Forever Country. Working with Meryl Streep was an amazing learning experience, watching such a warm, down-to-earth woman in action. Right now, I’ve been working for four years on a screenplay with Connie Francis. We hope to produce the movie by next year. I will play Connie Francis."

By the way, how’s your back? Has it completely healed?

"It’s good. I work out every day. I’m very, very strong. I’m not in any pain. I’m in good shape."

You’ve been to the Philippines...

"...oh yes, I have. Three times. Filipinos are very similar to the Latinos. My hair and makeup guy is a Filipino. His name is Sydney Jamila. He’s wonderful. The nurse who took care of me when I had my accident was also a Filipino. I brought her home with me; she took care of me for two months. I love the Filipinos."

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