Gloria Estefan
By: Stef L. '02
Gloria Estefan did not have an easy childhood.
Her father Jose was a Cuban exile who took part in the 1961 Bay of Pigs
invasion, which was an unsucessful attempt to put Castro out of power. Jose
spent a year in prison and during this time Gloria and her mother lived
in a Miami Cuban ghetto. Gloria got her start of fame in 1975. At the urging
of her mother, she sang some songs at a wedding which was being entertained
by a band called the Miami Latin Boys. The band leader, Emilio Estefan,
was so impressed with her voice that he asked her to join the band. She
said yes, and the band was renamed The Miami Sound Machine.
Gloria Estefan's first english-language album
for five years is Destiny. Destiny is an album of Afro-Cuban music combined
with the melodies of Fifties American Pop and lyrics of the nineties. Estefan
is now a superstar and the UK is her second biggest sales market above Latin
Ameria. Before her album destiny, Gloria Estefan has won Grammys for her
two spanish albums. Her tribute album Hold Me,Thrill Me, Kiss Me, and her
greatest hits collection have made multi-million sales. For the next year,
she will be touring the world. She now has a larger band based on the Miami
sound Machine, but also has two extra percussionists and a bigger brass
section. Her career is precision-planned.