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Gloria Estefan Quotes
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Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She started off her career as the lead singer in the group called "Miami Latin Boys" which was eventually known as Miami Sound Machine.

Estefan's breakthrough success with "Conga" in 1985 made her known worldwide. The song became Estefan's signature song and led to the Miami Sound Machine winning the grand prix in the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival in 1986. In the middle of 1988, she and the band got their first number-one hit for the song "Anything for You". She is a contralto.

In March 1990, Estefan had a severe accident in her tour bus. She made her comeback in March 1991 with a new world tour and album called Into The Light. Her 1993 Spanish-language album Mi Tierra won the first of her three Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Latin Album. It was the first number-one album on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, established when it was released. It was also the first Diamond album in Spain. Many of her songs like "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "1-2-3", "Get On Your Feet", "Here We Are", "Coming Out of the Dark", "Bad Boy", "Oye!", "Party Time" and a remake of Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around" became international hits, with chart-topping scores. Estefan has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, including 31.5 million in the United States alone.

She has won seven Grammy Awards. Estefan also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame. In 2015, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to American music and will receive the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2017 for her contributions to American Culture Life. Estefan also won an MTV Video Music Award, and two ACE Awards. She was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement as well as being named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple Billboard Awards. She is also on the list of VH1 top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and in Billboard's Top 100 Greatest Artists Of All time.

✵ 1. September 1957
Gloria Estefan photo
Gloria Estefan: 195   quotes 8   likes

Gloria Estefan Quotes

“I love Gloria Estefan, though -- she is cool. It's always just been about the music with her and they've been really good fun pop songs and really great ballads. And she's still going strong. She's quite classy and true to her Latin roots.”

Gloria Estefan

comments by Welsh singer Charlotte Church, BBC online news (September 26, 2005)
2007, 2008

Love , Music , Strong

“Everyone is helping each other out. That's what we do.... You know what happens? Infrastructure might not come through -- but people do come through. We all try to do our best. I know we just got power back in one of our restuarants, and I know there are a lot of people without power. So, we invited a thousand people with children to come over and have a hot lunch on us.”

Gloria Estefan

comment in aftermath of Hurricane Wilma (CNN's Showbiz Tonight-October 27, 2005)
2007, 2008

Children , People , Help

“I do [like being a redhead]... I do... because lighter is better as you get older... It's nice... I can't be a blonde. I'm definitely not a blonde... So, that doesn't leave too many other colors available.”

Gloria Estefan

Style Network (December 15, 2006)
2007, 2008

Color

“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 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 Your) 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 essesntial part of who I am."”

Gloria Estefan

answer to question "The title of your new album is "The Essential Gloria Estefan. What is the essential Gloria Estefan?"
2006

Question , Parting , Daughters

“I'd lock myself up in my room with my guitar. I wouldn't cry. I was afraid if I let go just a little bit, it would all go. I would sing for hours by myself.... It was my way of crying.”

Gloria Estefan

Entertainment Weekly (30 July 1993)
2007, 2008

Way , Singing , Cry

“However long we live here, however much I feel at home in Miami, I -- like everyone else -- am an exile, an exile who cannot go home.”

Gloria Estefan

cubanet.org (May 15, 2000)
2007, 2008

Feeling , Home

“When [my mother] saw we were not going to be able to go back [to Cuba] it became increasingly important for her to make our culture very prevalent and very important in our lives -- and in our household. We spoke only Spanish. I didn't learn English until I went to school in first grade. And the [Cuban] music and the food was very much a part of our life. I'm glad for that, because it is as well for my children.”

Gloria Estefan

BBC radio interview (December 13, 2006)
2007, 2008

Life , Children , School , Food

“The most beautiful thing about music is that it transcends most anything.”

Gloria Estefan

blogs.legacyrecordings.com (February 5, 2008)
2007, 2008

Beauty , Music

“My dream is to perform in a big, celebratory concert in a free Cuba, but I don't think they'd even let me into the country. And if they did, I'd have to speak against what is going on, which the government fears. I don't know how much change toward democracy we'll see as long as one of the Castro brothers is around, but I do believe there is a future with a new leader someday. But this leader will also love Cuba and really want to take her forward. When that day comes, Emilio and I will be there in any way that we can be of service.”

Gloria Estefan

Latina Magazine (September, 2007)
2007, 2008

Love , Fear , Dreams , Way

“{Fame has] given me a lot of free love -- and that's the best thing fame can afford you. What has it taken away? My privacy.”

Gloria Estefan

"Billboard Magazine" (11 October 2003)
2007, 2008

Love

“I'm a writer. I've written most of the music we've performed. Most people don't know that because no one cares who writes the music. But, that's who I am. I've written poetry since I was a little girl. Music was an evolution of that.”

Gloria Estefan

greenbaypressgazette.com (October 5, 2005)
2007, 2008

People , Music , Girl

“[After college] I was going to study at the Sorbon and become a diplomat. Being a diplomat comes in handy when you are dealing with record companies.”

Gloria Estefan

interview on Whoppi Goldberg radio program (October 13, 2006)
2007, 2008

Study

“The separation of families to me is very close to my heart because we lived that as immigrants. I strongly feel that we all connected, and having felt people's love and support first-hand through difficult moments in my life, makes me feel it's our responsibility to help one another. I am privileged to help in some way, and I will always take that opportunity.”

Gloria Estefan

comment to The Associated Press (September 10, 2005) as she prepared to lead a contingent of Hispanic-American entertainers on a humanitarian mission to Hurricane Katrina victims in Louisiana and Mississippi
2007, 2008

Love , Life , People , Family

“The secret of a long marriage is shaving your legs every day... because it shows you still care.”

Gloria Estefan

Style Network (December 15, 2006)
2007, 2008

Marriage , Secret

“I fought my company [Sony] tooth and nail when they stopped putting out singles.”

Gloria Estefan

thestrippodcast.com (September 9, 2006)
2007, 2008

“Emilio and I like projects to breathe and grow. We started with a concept -- write songs, make demos, then let the guest stars listen to them and then afffect the writing process. For Jose Feliciano, I had written a chorus and a bit of a melody. He started playing the chorus and ad-libbing. I went, "This is the [stuff]! Forget my melody!" Carlos Santana worked just the other way. He wanted me to record a plished take singing first, so his playing could recreate my emotion. I got goose bumps [writing "90 Millas"]. Like in "Esperando," which is addressed to Cubans on the island. Those of us in America, we're like the bogeyman, but I wanted Cubans at home to know: Whatever happened doesn't matter. The future is for us to heal. Adn also: because we're here, we latched onto any part of our culture. Yes and no [this is a political record]. Politics is life, so yes. but it's not specific. Saying that 90 miles haven't divided us sends a message about freedom for Cuba -- and for everyone.”

Gloria Estefan

www.huffingtonpost.com (September 7, 2007)
2007, 2008

Life , Way , Home , Star

“English translation of Spanish lyric in Cuba Libre”

Gloria Estefan

2007, 2008

“It took us two years to write, produce and arange the new album [90 Millas]. Aside from that, I wrote the two children's books based on Noelle, my bulldog, and I was fortunate enought that they ended up on the New York Times bestseller list. By now, we've got seven restaurants and two hotels, which we're very hands-on with, and we're building a third one in Vero Beach, Florida, And I took a vacation for once, because ever since Emilio and I got married in'78, every trip we've take has been for work. So last year, we went to Egypt, Panama, the Bahamas and Greece. It was fantastic!”

Gloria Estefan

Latina Magazine (September, 2007)
2007, 2008

Children , Books , Time

“We spent all our time lighting candles in the churches and praying for father's safe return. But even then [1961 and 1962], as a little girl, I knew that he was really in prison and that God had nothing to do with it. Since then I have never had any belief in religion.”

Gloria Estefan

cubanet.org (May 15, 2000)
2007, 2008

God , Religion , Girl , Light

“My family was musical on both sides. My father's family had a famous flautist and a classical pianist. My mother won a contest to be Shirley Temple's double -- she was the diva of the family. At 8, I learned how to play guitar. I used to play songs from the '20s, '30s and '40s in the kitchen for my grandmother. After my dad was a prisoner in Cuba for two years, we moved to Texas, where I was the only Hispanic in the class. I remember hearing "Ferry Cross the Mersey," by Gerry and the Pacemakers, and thinking, "that had bongos and maracas -- that was really a bolero." And the Beathles song, "Till There was You"… also Latin. I wrote poetry, which got me into lyrics. Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John pulled me into pop. I started singing with a band -- just for fun -- when I 17. And pretty soon, I was thinking I could sing pop in English as well as Spanish. And as you know, we did that and we broke through. But we waited until 1993 to release "Mi Tierra" -- we wanted my fans to be rady for the traditional Cuban music. And then we kept adding: more Cuban influences, more Latin America. And, underneath it all, African drums and rhythm. The concept of "90 Millas" starts with the songs of the '40s. We invited 25 masters of Latin music -- giants on the cutting edge of creativity, musicians who pushed it out to the world, young Cuban artists and Puerto Ricans who are huge -- so we could blend cultures and generations. So it is like coming home, but not exactly to the old Cuba.”

Gloria Estefan

www.huffingtonpost.com (September 7, 2007)
2007, 2008

World , Family , Music , Home

“I'm signed to release the third book in the series. When they invited me to do the Noelle book I had started on an autobiography, sort of, because I still get a lot of questions about that. I done so much music in my life, and writing is a beautiful outlet to continue to grow.”

Gloria Estefan

Reuters (November 17, 2006)
2007, 2008

Life , Books , Beauty , Music

“The 2004 tour hasn't ended. I still have to finish Latin America and Europe. [Celia Cruz and I] were good friends. Emilio did her first video; we wrote a song for her. I would have loved to have had her there [when recording "90 Millas"]. But she was there. I felt her. That's the beauty of a legacy. Celia was economical and tasty in her choices. And in the pocket like you wouldn't believe? [Which means] It's like a rhythm, from son music. To have it it is to be locked in, like a tuned engine. Once you're in the pocket, you're free. That's why, for most of these songs, I sang and I sang until I had the emotion, then... one take. {Couldn't you be considered the heiress to Celia Cruz? ] you can't give youself a title! That's crazy! If I ever start talking like that, please put me out of my misery. I don't care if I'm 80, with my butt to my ankles, put me down.”

Gloria Estefan

www.huffingtonpost.com (September 7, 2007)
2007, 2008

Love , Beauty , Music

“We are trying to celebrate in the new album -- 90 Miles [coming out in the summer of 2007] is the fact that after almost 50 years our homeland [Cuba] is not ours. We have amazing musicians on board preparing this album, and some continue to come on board. It's all new music we've wriiten - all new stuff... No relaxing for me... I've got the Connie Francis screenplay I'm working on, which we just finished. We have a producer... I've got to meet the director that I'm going to go hammer... I've been working on it since 2000 with Connie Francis, who is darling. Plus, I'm a mommy... I take her [12-year-old Emily] to games, take her to school, pick her up... We're women, we're used to”

Gloria Estefan

constantly juggling responsibilities
cbs4.com (February 9, 2007)
2007, 2008

Women , School , Music , Game

“It would be difficult for me to go back [permanently] to Cuba because Miami is my city... That's where we have made our life. That's were I feel at home... But I would love to be, you know, whatever help I can be [post-Castro] to the people who will be leading themselves. I do think Cuba does have to find its leadership from within. They have a very different society from what we are used to. They are going to need certain things that a democracy might not provide right away. And I don't think it's going to be as quick a change. I think [Castro's] death will bring change, needless to say. But I think his brother [Raul] will try to save the specter of the revolution for quite a while. And maybe start doing some opening [to improve U. S.-Cuba relations]. That is what I feel will happen.”

Gloria Estefan

BBC radio interview (December 13, 2006)
2007, 2008

Love , Life , Death , People

“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 totoally roots-oriented and 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.”

Gloria Estefan

answer to the question "How do you reinvent yourself through the years?"
2007, 2008

Life , People , Music , Dance

“We wanted to show the influence Cuban music has had on musicians from all over, so we invited 25 of the top Latin musicians in the world, and it was a great honor they paid me. Some of them are actually inventors, like Cachao, the Cuban bassist creditied with creating mambo.”

Gloria Estefan

Latina Magazine (September, 2007)
2007, 2008

World , Music

“He makes me laugh like crazy. We're still kids inside. We're mature and responsible when it comes to business, but we know how to have fun.”

Gloria Estefan

answer to question "What's the key to your long-lasting marriage with Emilio?"
2007, 2008

Business

“Excuse me, you have binoculars in the second row... and there're zoom... What exactly were you looking at there?... Very cute... Well, get your money's worth, honey.”

Gloria Estefan

The Evolution Tour: Live in Miami
2007, 2008

Money

“I do also have a couple of surprises -- which I can't tell you, because then it wouln't be a surprise. So, don't ask what the surprise is. I'm not going to tell you.”

Gloria Estefan

comment at press conference for Februrary 9, 2007, fundraising gala benefit dinner at Gloria and Emilio Estefans' home on Star Island, near Miami, Florida (cbs4.com January 16, 2007)
2007, 2008

“[My first children's book] is very subliminal, let's put it that way. It even has a bit of a metaphysical little message in there [about how] we're all somehow connected and we all have a responsibility toward each other. Although you may feel alone in the world, you definitely are not.”

Gloria Estefan

The New York Daily News (October 30, 2005)
2007, 2008

Children , Books , World , Way

“Not even a bomb scare could keep Gloria Estefan from her fans.”

Gloria Estefan

comment by Frank Amadeo, president of Estefan Enterprises, Inc. (EEI), after Estefan walked across a gridlocked George Washington Bridge in New York City to appear at a book signing in Ridgeway, New Jersey -- where she was greeted by 1,000 fans
2007, 2008

“[My husband Emilio] found the last remaining virgin in the '70s -- and that was me.”

Gloria Estefan

Good Morning America radio interview (October 26, 2006)
2007, 2008

“I was a straight-A student, baby!”

Gloria Estefan

Estefan, laughing, as she confirmed a reporter's observation that "she is good at whatever she studies." www.allheadlinenews.com (August 12, 2008)
2007, 2008

Baby

“We went back [to Cuba] once, in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter gave the opportunity for people with family members to go. We went to help get Emilio's only brother and his two kids [one of whom, Lili, is la Flaca from Univision's El Gordo y la Flaca] out. We got them a visa through Costa Rica, but when Emilio's brother announced that he was leaving, [the government] starting taking repressive measures against him, so he went into hiding for two months until they were able to leave. While we were there, Emilio and I bought them things they didn't even know existed, like apples and olives, from the diplotiendas [stores open only to tourists]. To this day, Lili has an olive fetish.”

Gloria Estefan

Latina Magazine (September, 2007)
2007, 2008

People , Family , Help

“[Cuban coffee is] very powerful, very sweet, and a little dangerous —- just like the people who drink it.”

Gloria Estefan

Entertainment Weekly (30 July 1993)
2007, 2008

People , Coffee , Drink

“Of course in Miami, not denouncing Fidel Castro at every turn is almost as bad as saying Gloria Estefan can't sing.”

Gloria Estefan

miaminewtimes.com (October 19, 2006)
2007, 2008

Singing

“The United States stands tall, representing a parade of nations, 300 million strong. That number will grow during today's citizenship ceremony, featuring the national anthem performed by pop star Gloria Estefan. She captures the essence of what makes this country so great: Ms. Estefan arrived from Cuba as a 2-year-old and would eventually chase her amitions of becoming a singer. She would incorporate salsa into mainstream American music, reflecting the true meaning of this country as a melting pot.”

Gloria Estefan

editorial on www.orlandosentinel.com (July 5, 2007)
2007, 2008

Music , Star , Strong , Country

“It is always so, I guess, validating when you meet somebody that you esteem -- and then they turn out to be everything [you thought] and more.”

Gloria Estefan

comments by singer Naomi Judd, Hallmark Channel (January 29, 2006)
2007, 2008

“This is an opening gift tht we are making in conjunction with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of half a million dollars.”

Gloria Estefan

www.nbc6.net (April 10, 2007)
2007, 2008

“The only difference [between promoting a book and a CD] is when I do the readings. My fans are out there in full force, but it's nice to have all the kids there as well. I really love this evolution of writing. Writing is my core, and writing the book was like writing a really long love song. I have 31 pages to elaborate instead of three minutes. And my target audience, although it is children, I don't talk down to them. I want the parents to find it interesting. [Children] sit in my lap. I love it. I've always tried to turn an arena into an intimate setting. So, if I'm already in an intimate setting... You get to talk to a few hundred people, and you get to really bring them in, to have an exchange with them that often doesn't occur on the stage.”

Gloria Estefan

Reuters (November 17, 2006)
2007, 2008

Love , Children , People , Books

“Toys are not a need people typically think of, but they've got all these kids who have absolutely nothing to do.”

Gloria Estefan

comment to USA Today newspaper (September 15, 2005) explaining why she, Emilio and other prominent Hispanic entertainers personally delivered a planeload of toys and other aid to three shelters with Hurricane Katrina victims
2007, 2008

People , Thinking

“It is always hard to hear people say such nice things about us, because quite honestly I feel very privileged and honored to be of service in any way I can. I think that is my mission here on earth in some way -- whether it is entertaining people or trying to help in whatever way I can. So [the attention and acclaim] is pretty embarrassing to me.”

Gloria Estefan

comment at ceremony to honor million dollar donation from Gloria and Emilio Estefan to The Miamia Project to Cure Paralysis Human Clinical Trials Program
2007, 2008

People , Way , Feeling , Thinking

“If Michael Jackson could write a song for a rat, I could write a song for [my pet bulldog] Noelle.”

Gloria Estefan

contactmusic.com (December 14, 2005)
2007, 2008

“When I did "Unwrapped" -- that's one of my favorite albums I've ever done in my life -- I love it when someone listens to the whole album. But I would rather them be able to buy some songs that they like, [rather] than not buy the album at all.... You can't fight technology. You can't fight, you know, the consumer.”

Gloria Estefan

thestrippodcast.com (September 9, 2006)
2007, 2008

Love , Life , Fight

“The script [for the movie based on the life of singer Connie Francis -- "Who's Sorry Now?"] is finished and is in the hands of several artists to see if somebody wants to film at the start of”

Gloria Estefan

2006
eluniveral.com.mx (December 9, 2005)
2007, 2008

Life

“My friends call me 'Dolittle One' [a reference to her physical stature and affinity for animals].”

Gloria Estefan

The Book Standard (4 June 2005)
2007, 2008

Animals

“We wanted to not just have a presence there [areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina] and raise awareness in the Hispanic community -- and anyone else who might be watching -- but leave them a little better than when we got there.”

Gloria Estefan

comment to NBC6 television {Miami} as she boarded plane on relief mission
2007, 2008

Communication

“Gloria Estefan is going to be here. She writes these books about her dog, Noelle... and she also dances and sings well, too.”

Gloria Estefan

Gretchen Carlson, anchor of Fox and Friends television program (October 12, 2006)
2007, 2008

Books , Dogs , Singing , Dance

“For the past 32 years of our career our position against the Castro regime has been crystal clear. We have mainatained this position with Presidents, Royality in several countries, Pope Joh Paul and anyone who has broached the subject of Cuba with us. Even when it would have been easier to stay silent, we have expressed our disagreement with the Cuban dictatorship and have spoken worldwide of the pain of the Cuban people. We have never nor would we ever collaborate with anyone who supports the Cuban dictatorship or Che Guevara. This should be apparently clear due to our trajectory.”

Gloria Estefan

Gloria and Emilio Estefan's Statement Regarding her forthcoming CD "90 Millas" (March 28, 2007)
2007, 2008

Pain , People , Support , Past

“My foundation trys to help people that fall through the cracks, [people] that can't get help from big organizations.... We try to fill in where [other] people don't help out.”

Gloria Estefan

Source: CNN's Showbiz Tonight (October 27, 2005)

People , Help