Gloria Estefans Fame And Fortune Was Earned. She Has Worked Hard To Th

Gloria Estefan’s fame and fortune was earned. She has worked hard to this day, and continues to do so. Not only is she a great singer, she is a great humanitarian, helping and donating her time and money to many good causes. Life was never easy for Gloria, and this is her story, in my words.
Gloria Estefan was born Gloria Maria Fajardo on September 1st, 1957 to Jose Manuel and Gloria in the town of Havana, Cuba. When she was only 17 months old, her family fled to Miami from the regime of Fidel Castro. They were very poor, and found a small apartment behind the Orange Bowl in a Cuban ghetto, in which they called ‘Home’. Jose Fajardo, took part in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and was captured and jailed. Gloria and her mom adapted slowly to their new homeland, they spoke no English and life day to day was very hard for them. A few years later Jose returned from Cuba, he joined the US Army and the family moved to Texas with him. Rebecca, Gloria’s sister arrived in 1963, and Jose would soon volunteer to fight in Vietnam. Music played a key part in Gloria’s life during this time, she would sing songs to other families that were missing their homeland, and she was soon discovered she was very talented in music, learning to play a guitar by herself. In Texas she was taught about popular music, and it soon became Gloria’s #1 love. Two years after Jose left for Vietnam, he returned, but he was a changed man. The family moved back to Miami, and it was there they noticed the change. Jose was found to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, from being exposed to Agent Orange. Since Jose could no longer support his family, his wife, Gloria, went to work by day and college by night. She was learning the English language, and Gloria would often help. With her father ill, her mother working, Gloria was the head of the house, she took care of her younger sister, and also took care of her Dad. From when she was eleven until she was sixteen, she would come straight home from school to take care of her Dad. Music was her way out of the pain, she refused to cry from all the traumatic events in her life. When she had the time, she would lock herself in her room and play songs and sing, it was her escape, something that she looked forward to every day.
Gloria first met her future husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., in a music class she was taken. Emilio had just recently formed a Latin band- ‘The Miami Latin Boys’. In 1975, Gloria graduated High School at the top of her class, she went to attend the University of Miami, and majored in psychology and a minor in communication. School was very important to Gloria, it was something she knew she must do. One day her mother literally dragged Gloria to a wedding in which the ‘Miami Latin Boys’ were playing. Emilio, recognizing Gloria from the music class asked her to sing a number with the band, and she reluctantly agreed, the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Emilio then invited Gloria to come to a ‘Latin Boy’ practice, just for fun. She agreed and brought her cousin Merci with her. Emilio was blown away from the 2 ladies and asked Gloria if he would like to join the band. Gloria, without a thought, said no. She had just started her freshmen year at UM, and she did not want to risk her grades. Emilio could not take no for an answer, and said that she would sing only on weekends and vacations, and would just be a hobby. Finally, Gloria joined the band, and it was renamed ‘The Miami Sound Machine.’ Gloria and Emilio always noticed something special about each other, but nothing happened until July 4, 1976. Emilio told Gloria during a band break that it was his birthday. He asked her for a birthday kiss on the cheek, and she agreed, but as she went to kiss him on the cheek, he moved his face and kissed her on the lips. On that day fireworks went off for Gloria and Emilio’s relationship. They were very cautious, knowing the business and pleasure didn’t mix well. Emilio loved Gloria for her soul, but he knew that Gloria could improve physically. She was a little overweight, and incredibly shy, and would bug her to improving herself by 95%. This motivated her, and gained the physical appearance we know Gloria has, Gloria and Emilio dated for 2 years, when Emilio proposed to Gloria. It was February 12, 1978, it was meant as a Valentine gift, but Emilio couldn’t wait. He proposed to her infront of his mother, and 7 months later, a day after Gloria’s birthday, they married.
1980 was the milestone year for Gloria, personally and professionally. On the personal level Gloria had her first child, a son, Nayib. But sadly Jose Manuel Fajardo, being bedridden for many years died. Professionally, they signed with CBS International, and many albums were recorded with them. From 1981 to 1982, MSM was huge in the Spanish speaking parts of our world, they sold many albums, and played for sold out stadiums. After 7 albums in Spanish, MSM finally recorded an English album. They titled the album ‘Eyes of Innocence’. The songs were all in English, and the first single, ‘Dr. Beat’ was big in both the US and the UK. In 1985, MSM released ‘Primitive Love’ and it was instant stardom. The first single ‘Conga’ was huge, everyone loved it. It was the #1 requested song, and over night Gloria was wanted all over the US. Other songs on ‘Primitive Love’ also did well, it had three top ten singles: ‘Conga’, ‘Words Get in the Way’, and ‘Bad Boy’. It sold 1.5 million in the US alone. The next album- ‘Let it Loose’ came with many changes. Gloria was quickly singled out, and on the cover ‘Gloria Estefan and the MSM’ was written as the artist. The had four top ten hits from this album: ‘Anything For You’, ‘1-2-3’, ‘Rhythm is Gonna Get You’ and ‘Can’t Stay Away From You’. The next album- ‘Cuts Both Ways’, all songs were written or c0-written by Gloria. Other changes was the new name of the band- Gloria Estefan, dropping MSM. The first single- ‘Don’t Wanna Loose You’ was both release in English and Spanish, and both versions went #1. Gloria went on a world tour, and trotted the globe, while back in the US, Gloria came down with a bad case of the flu and ruptured two blood vessels in her throat. She could not talk for 2 weeks, and no singing for 2 months. More hits surfaced- ‘Get On Your Feet’, ‘Oye Mi Canto’, and ‘Here We Are’. Gloria was on top, but that would change.
While on a bus to a concert in Syracuse, a huge crash and explosion happened and Gloria found herself on the ground. She felt intense, sharp pain in her back, and could hardly mover her legs. The pain was unbearable, and she had to wait for hours for medical assistant. Gloria had broken 2 vertebra’s in her back, and risked paralysis. A doctor was going to insert two metal rods into her back to keep her spinal cord stable. On March 22, 1990, 2 days after the accident, Gloria went into surgery, and pulled through. She started her recuperation, and it took her 6 months to get back to normal. She began to write for a new album, and maybe a world tour. In 1991, and Gloria was fully recovered from the accident. She released a new album – ‘Into the Light’. It would be the most personal albums. One year after the accident, the first single- ‘Coming Out of the Dark’ hit number one. Others like ‘Seal Our Fate’, and ‘Live for Loving You’ did very well too. She then launched the sold out Into the Light tour. In 1992, Gloria released a ‘Greatest Hits’ album, which included 4 original songs. In 1993, she released a Christmas album- ‘Christmas Through Your Eyes’. She also released ‘mi tierra’ in 1993, which was a tribute to her Hispanic background. The all Spanish album, also toped American pop charts, and it earned Gloria her first Grammy, for ‘Best Tropical Latin Performance’. In 1994 Gloria got pregnant, and her second baby at great risk. After trying for years, Gloria found out that due to the accident, she would need a simple surgery to get pregnant. She did, and Emily Marie was born. The year she released a new English album- ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’. Which was a compilation of songs that Gloria liked from the 50’s to 70’s. ‘Turn the Beat Around’, ‘Everlasting Love’, ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’, and ‘It’s Not Too Late’, did very well in the charts. In 1995 she did a follow up to ‘mi tierra’ titled ‘Abriendo Puertas’. This earned her second Grammy in the same category. In 1996, Gloria released ‘Destiny’, her first all original English album since ‘Into the Light.’ The first single ‘Reach’ was chosen as the official Olympic theme song, and it went all the way to #2 on the charts. Other singles ‘You’ll Be Mine’, ‘I’m Not Giving You Up’, ‘Higher’ and ‘No Prentendo’ also did very well on the charts. She embarked on a world tour- ‘Evolution’ and toured the world.
Gloria also has given back to the community, she helped with relief efforts for Hurricane Andrew, with AIDS awareness, and inner city kids. She recently donated a huge amount of money to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, in which she greatly supports. Everything Gloria does is from the heart, and she is truly a great role model. She is presently ready to release a new dance album, schedule for release in December. The Estefans run a very successful business, from a provate recording label, to Crescent Moon Studios, to the Cardoza Hotel, to their restaurants. They live in a mansion off Miami Beach- Star Island, and happily lives with their pets. 5 Dalmatians- Lucy, Ricky, Teddy, Red & Holly, plus their 4 wallabies.
Gloria has just released a brand new, pure energy-dance album, entitled gloria! . This album would be her last one until the year 2000.