ÿþM i c r o s o f t W o r d - G l o r i a E s t e f a n - Jim Mathis

Gloria Estefan<br />

"You never know what life has in store for you, but I believe there are certain things one<br />

is meant to go through."<br />

Gloria Estefan, born Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo in 1957, is the most popular Latin<br />

American singer of the 80s and 90s. She continues to fill arenas with her Latin/English<br />

lyrics and combination Salsa, Conga and Pop rhythms.<br />

The daughter of Cuban exiles, she initially rose to prominence in the 1970's singing Latin<br />

songs in her native tongue. Childhood was not easy for the future "Queen of Latin Pop."<br />

Her father, Jose, was involved in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and spent a year and a<br />

half in prison. He volunteered for duty in Viet Nam. Later he was diagnosed with<br />

multiple sclerosis and Gloria watched him die a slow painful death for 14 years.<br />

She understood the sacrifice her parents paid for her freedom, "He fought for these same<br />

freedoms. I was not about to let anyone stomp on those ideals." But Gloria's life was to<br />

face many more challenges.<br />

Born in Havana, Cuba two years before Fidel Castro's communist government took<br />

control of the island nation, Gloria's family immigrated to Miami, Florida as did many<br />

other exiles in 1959. Gloria not only cared for her sick father, but her younger sister while<br />

her mother worked at a local high school. She would spend her free time playing guitar<br />

in her room.<br />

She went to Catholic High School in Miami and met Emilio Estefan when he came to her<br />

school to offer advice on music. The two played at a friend's wedding but Gloria, being<br />

extremely shy, did not want to continue her music career preferring to focus on becoming<br />

an interpreter. She was accepted to Miami University on a partial scholarship in 1975. In<br />

spite of her shyness, she was encouraged to become an accompanist and occasional lead<br />

singer of Emilio's Cuban-American group called the Miami Latin Boys.<br />

She married Emilio in 1978, shortly afterwards collecting her BA degree from the<br />

University of Miami. The group accepted her as a permanent member while Emilio<br />

became her coach in overcoming the bashfulness. The group changed their name to<br />

Miami Sound Machine (MSM) and began performing songs that Gloria wrote.<br />

They recorded a several Spanish-language albums, becoming extremely successful not<br />

only in the USA and Europe but especially Latin America.<br />

MSM’s rise to the top began in 1984, when the band's B-side dance track, "Dr. Beat"<br />

made it to the No. 10 spot on the U.S. dance chart. CBS Records moved them from its<br />

Hispanic division to Epic records, their international label due to their popularity.<br />

The 1985 follow-up to Eyes of Innocence, MSM's first album with Epic, was a huge<br />

international hit with the release of top-10 singles such as "Bad Boy" and "Conga". The<br />

latter dance hit from the all-English album Primitive Love, became the first single to

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emain on Billboard's pop, dance, black, and Latin charts simultaneously. "Conga" also<br />

appears in the Guiness Book of World Records for an estimated 119,000 people who did<br />

the conga in 1988.<br />

The group's popularity increased with Gloria singing lead so much that in 1986, it forced<br />

a name change to "Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine." Eventually the name<br />

was shortened to simply "Gloria Estefan." She released her first solo album in 1989<br />

featuring No. 1 ballads such as "Anything for You," and "Don't Wanna Lose You".<br />

Everything seemed to be going Gloria's way, but a year later, tragedy struck. She was<br />

involved in a serious accident in Syracuse, New York. Her tour bus was hit from behind<br />

by a semi tractor trailer truck. Gloria suffered a broken vertebra and had to undergo<br />

massive surgery. She was given little hope for full recovery, but Estefan beat the odds<br />

and the prognoses. Drawing on tremendous willpower and the strength and support from<br />

her worldwide fans, she underwent a year of physical therapy. " She returned to the stage<br />

in March of 1991.<br />

Gloria sang at the half time of the Super Bowl in 1992. Estefan's 1993 and 1995 albums<br />

next two albums were Spanish-language efforts that distanced her somewhat from the<br />

American mainstream, but proved hugely popular in South America. Destiny was her first<br />

English-language collection for over five years, featuring "Reach," the theme to the 1996<br />

Olympic Games in Atlanta. She sang it for the closing ceremonies of the Olympic<br />

Games.<br />

The following year Gloria made her acting debut alongside Meryl Streep in Music Of<br />

The Heart. The title song in the soundtrack featured Estefan singing duet with pop<br />

sensations 'N Sync. Estefan was the recipient of an Award of Merit at the 2000 American<br />

Music Awards. In 2004 she was the featured performer for the Miss Universe pageant<br />

held in Ecuador. Thanks to her international appeal, as well as her loyalty to a bi-cultural<br />

heritage, she is fondly known as "Nuestra Glorita," which means “our little Gloria.”<br />

Estefan has traveled the world as a Cuban-American musician, and she has been an<br />

emissary on behalf of the Cuban Exiles. Rolling Stone magazine said, "Estefan<br />

wholeheartedly embraces her Cuban heritage with superb arrangements. Gloria and her<br />

husband Emilio can be credited with putting Miami on the musical map and reconnecting<br />

across a great divide back to their motherland--Cuba".<br />

Permission is granted to reprint this article provided the following<br />

paragraph is included in full:<br />

<strong>Jim</strong> <strong>Mathis</strong>, CSP is an international Certified Speaking Professional, executive coach and<br />

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