[gLoria esteFan]

oyendo la llamada del servicio, el padre de gloria se enganchó para participarse en la invasión de cuba. captuado y encarcelado, josé pasó más que un año en cuba, como prisionero de guerra. aúnque era bien triste la situación de la familia fajardo, no era único. "todos los hombres habían idos," recuerda gloria, "todas las madres y los hijos estaban viviendo juntos." como su padre, gloria sentío la llamada del servicio y respondió por empezar su carrera como cantante aficionada, cantando canciónes cubanas a las mujeres cuyas maridos se han ido a la guerra. tan joven, no pudiera saber que, algún día, su música ("oye mi canto") sería prohibido en cuba por fidel castro. cuando josé regresó de cuba, se lo mandaron a texas y la familia fajardo se movío otra vez. la hermana de gloria, rebecca, se nació y josé era transbordado a vietnam.

era cuando estaba en texas que gloria se encontró la música pop. ella recuerda que, como niña, sentí bien fea y sola, pero en la música se descubrió una liberación. "cuando era una chica, era gorda, era tímida, llevaba gafas, tenía una sola ceja y pelo por todo el cuerpo. eran años de tormento. era muy triste y medroso, para mi. la música era la única luz de mi vida. mi niñez me hizó muy seria y introvertida; la música era mi escape de eso. yo cantaba en vez de llorar." y ella cantaba. sus padres le regalaron una guitarra y gloria empezó a venir directamente de la escuela para cuidar a su hija y su padre (quien ha regresado de la guerra y había sido diagnosticado con el multiple sclerosis), y practicar su música. "mi padre se levantaría, olvidar que no pudiera caminar, y cayerse; yo tenía que levantarle mucho y él sentía malo sobre esto. pero la música me curaba. cantar en mi habitación era una manera de expresarme." la madre de gloria había empezado a trabajar, por este punto, y sacaba clases de inglés por la noche, deseando en hacerse maestra. gloria consideraba ayudando a su madre con su tarea una de sus tareas.

en 1975, gloria se vió al hombre con el caul le casaría, emilio estefan. emilio, un músico prometedor, dió una oración a la clase de música de gloria sobre los principios de la música, pero los dos no se conocerían para unos meses mós. era en una boda, a la cual la madre de gloria le había llevado, que gloria y emilio se conocieron para la primera vez. emilio, reconociendo a ella de la clase, le invitó a cantar una canción con su banda, los latin boys, y, a la insistencía de su madre, ella consentió. la ovación que ella recibió inspiró a emilio invitarle a unirse con la banda. al principio, ella negó a la invitación, considerando que estaba en el punto de matricularse en la universidad, pero, apoyada por su familia, ella eventualmente consentió. los latin boys cambiaron su nombre a "miami sound machine", como ya no eran puros hombres, pero gloria admite que a ella no le gustaba el nuevo nombre tampoco, notando que la palabra "machine" le parecía demasiado inhumano. el cambio de nombre también reflejó un cambio de estilo. explica gloria, "al principio, emilio y su bando solo tocaban la música salsa y, cuando yo me uní con ellos, las cosas empezaron a cambiar, poco a poco. él empezó a escribir unas baladas para que las pudiera cantar yo, y también, me animó a empezar a escribir música y canciónes para hacer un albúm original." trabajando lado a lado, la romancia floreció entre emilio y gloria.

en el 12 de febrero, 1978—dos años después de que empezaron a salir—emilio le presentó a gloria un anillo. siete meses después, los dos se casaron. desde aquel día, gloria ha contado con el poder de su amor diciendo que, "habían muchos momentos cuando dijé, 'no puedo hacer esto; esto no puedo aguantar,' y él me dice, 'si, tu puedes'."

en 1980, varios eventos importantes, personales y profesionales, empezaron a desarollarse para las familias fajardo y estefan. depués de muchos años de sufrir, la padre de gloria se murió, sólo depués de ver a su primera hija emperezada con su nieto. y, después de muchos años de trabajo duro, miami sound machine firmó un contracto con una companía principal, cbs international. con tres discos ya hechos, miami sound machine empezó a producir más discos y preparar el terreno para éxito en los americas y europa. no obstante el éxito que realizó, no se podría oir su música en el radio en los eeuu, no incluso unas ciudades con populaciónes grandes de hispanohablantes. "nosotros podíamos llenar conciertos en los estadios de panama, pero el público norteamericano de la música "pop" no nos conocía para nada," recuerda la gloria. era eyes of innocence que, últimamente se llevó al público anglohablante los ritmos latinos de miami sound machine. de este albúm, la canción "dr. beat" llevó a ser un éxito international y un favorito en los discos. pero era "conga", de 1985, que se considera la mayoría la primera sensación internacional del grupo. las palabras que cantaba gloria, "come on everybody, let's do the conga/i know you can't control yourself any longer", se parecerion casi profíticas, mientras que forzaban a todo el mundo ponerse a bailar.

con el íxito de "conga", la carera de gloria estefan y del miami sound machine progresaba a paso rá rápido. el grupo fue honorado por la ciudad de miami con el llave de la ciudad y su propio camino. tambiín eran invitados a participarse en las bandas sonoras de las películas top gun y cobra. de hecho, el estado aumentado que se realizó el grupo también era obvio en los abrigos de sus discos. transformado de una muchacha timida y torpe a una mujer profesional, extrovertida y sensual, era la cara de gloria que se parecía en los abrigos ahora. "nunca era una animadora natural. me encantaba la música, pero era muy t7#237;mida. sólo crear a sentir el placer de lo que hago ha tomado mucho tiempo, para mi," explica gloria. su próximo disco, let it loose era un éxito aú más grande con las canciones "anything for you", 1-2-3", "the rhythm is gonna get you" and "i can't stay away from you"

with the success of "conga", the career of gloria estefan and miami sound machine was on the fast track. the group was honored by the city of miami with the key to the city and their own street. they were also sought after to appear on movie soundtracks such as top gun and cobra. in fact, the group's newly-acheived status was even apparent on their album covers. having gone from shy, awkward, loner to outgoing and senuous professional, it was gloria's face that now appeared on the albums. "i was never a natural entertainer. i loved music, but i was very shy. just growing into the sheer enjoyment of what i do has taken time," explalins gloria. the group's next album, let it loose was an even greater success, scoring four top-ten singles—"anything for you", "1-2-3", "rhythm is gonna get you" and i can't stay away from you". that year's grammys ceremony, the highpoint of their career, thusfar, also presented them with a possible stumbling block. long-time collaborators, the jerks, parted ways with the estefans and miami sound machine, reportedly over disagreements over salaries. having contributed largely to the albums that had brought gloria estefan and miami sound machine international fame, both fans and records label executives were left wondering who would write the songs. to find the answer, one had to look no further than the group themselves. emilio's encouragement of gloria's talent as a songwriter was about to pay off in the form of a string of hit singles from their first album released under the name gloria estefan, cuts both ways.

on march 20th, 1990, tragedy struck. on their way to a concert in syracruse, the group's tour bus had an accident, the resulting injuries of which necessitated gloria being airlifted to a hospital for back surgery. having a fourteen inch cicatrice and two metal rods (to hold up her spine) placed in her back, gloria began a rigorous regiment of physical therapy and exericse. the accident had left gloria unable to walk, let alone deliver the high-energy performances to which her public had become accustomed. "one more millimeter and my spinal cord would have been severed," gloria remembers, "i was nearly paralyzed. it was pretty bleak. the doctor said i might be able to walk again, but he doubted that i would be able to perform. and then he said, 'it's all up to you. i have seen recoveries that have nothing to do with medicine, [but] everything to do with the person's spirit and desire to get better'." that may have been all the motivation that gloria needed to begin her recovery, but it's certainly not all the motivation she got. "i got thousands upon thousands of letters while i was recovering. many people wrote to say our music had helped get them through difficult experiences. others were praying for me in the lobby of the hospital. they made me want to come back. and, later, i wanted to tell everybody how much the power of people together in a community praying and concentrating on something positive had to do with my recovery," said gloria.

gloria's recuperation was split between the physical therapy, upon which her doctors insisted, and her music, which she had always found cathartic. an awards show performance of "coming out of the dark" signaled gloria's return to the world of performance, and stunned fans who watched a woman who had been told she may never walk again, backed by video clips of her greuling workout routine, sing about the power of spirit and love. into the light was supported by a dance-instensive global tour that put gloria back on the top of the charts. a greatest hits album followed, in 1992, containing four original songs, one of which—"christmas through your eyes"—inspired an album of christmas music. as gloria was coming out of her own personal darkness, though, florida's was just beginning. hurricane andrew swept across the state in 1992, leaving in its wake a trail of mayhem and destruction. just as she had done so many years ago for the women of florida whose men were off at war, gloria picked up her guitar and wrote a song for a people that she considered family. organizing a relief concert, the procedes of which would aid victims of the hurricane, gloria took center stage (both literally and figuratively) to help the people who had helped her to recover just a year before.

in 1993, gloria's audience would bear witness to another artistic redirection; mi tierra was released, capturing the sounds of 1940s havana and reminding the public of what had made gloria famous. never before had an album entirely in spanish fared so well in the north american market, selling platinum and earning gloria her first grammy for best tropical latin album. needless to say, mi tierra was an unbelievable success in other parts of the world, too; in spain, the album holds the honor of being the best selling album in the country's history.

in 1994, much to the concern of her doctors, gloria became pregnant for a second time. there was much speculation as to whether carrying the baby to term would cuase gloria's already weak back to break, again. considering her health, as well as her baby's, gloria postponed plans for an album she'd been working on and, instead, dedicated herself to an album of covers called hold me, thrill me, kiss me. "[ the pregnancy] is why i did hold me, thrill me, kiss me, which was going to be something i did later on. i thought it was a good opportunity, while i was pregnant, to make an album that was fun to do and that i wasn't going to have to tour on," she explains. as the linar notes detail, the album is an ammalgamation of songs that influenced gloria, either professionally or personally. in early december of 1994, as she had done many times before, the stalwart entertainer surprised everyone, giving birth to emily marie estefan. as with her first child, nayib, emily has brought a new energy and life to gloria. "each morning, emily and i laugh and play and sing. emily loves music. her personality is just like mine. my mother said she had to sing to me to take my diaper off. emily is the same," gloria says of her latest accomplishment.

1995 saw the release of gloria estefan's second all-spanish album, abriendo puertas. with linar notes in both english and spanish, gloria educated her audience about a myriad of latin rhythms and instruments. while mi tierra was a decidedly cuban album, abriendo puertas, as the name suggests, opened the doors to a variety of central and south american cultures. like mi tierra, abriendo puertas dispelled any notions that a spanish album could not sell well in north america, and it earned estefan another grammy in the same category. in 1996, "reach", a song co-authored by gloria estefan and diane warren which appeared on gloria's new album destiny, served as the official song of the olympics. gloria kicked off her evolution tour, in support of the album, in atlanta, the night before the opening ceremonies and returned to perform at the closing ceremonies. destiny, which is in english, is infused with latin rhythms such as bolero, merengue and samba, seeming to unite the two cultures of which estefan is a part.

in the summer of 1998, estefan released gloria!, returning again—as she had with hold me, thrill me, kiss me—to the 1970s. the eleven-track album was originally conceived as a remix album of some of gloria's greatest dance hits; she decided, however, that she would rather produce an album of original disco tracks, and gloria! was born. within the first month of its release, songs like "heaven's what i feel", "oye" and "feelin'" are finding their way to the dancefloor—and not just the dancefloor of studio 54, where la sra. estefan held her release party. the album also includes such gems as "don't stop" (remeniscent of the weather girls' "it's raining men") and "don't release me" (in which gloria meets fugee wyclef jean both in the studio and on the dancefloor).

a woman of undeniable conviction and strength, gloria estefan has perservered through life's more challenging moments with dignity and grace. with her voice, she has shattered culture and gender lines across the globe and built a rock-solid career from a foundation of poverty and insecurity—all the while caring for a thriving family. she has given people a role model who is not blond, not white, not cheap. a strong, intelligent cuban-american woman who balances family and career with compassion and love, gloria estefan is truly deserving of the title of diva.