Gloria Estefan "You never know what life has in store for you, but I believe there are certain things one is meant to go through." Gloria Estefan, born Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo in 1957, is the most popular Latin American singer of the 80s and 90s. She continues to fill arenas with her Latin/English lyrics and combination Salsa, Conga and Pop rhythms. The daughter of Cuban exiles, she initially rose to prominence in the 1970's singing Latin songs in her native tongue. Childhood was not easy for the future "Queen of Latin Pop." Her father, Jose, was involved in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and spent a year and a half in prison. He volunteered for duty in Viet Nam. Later he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Gloria watched him die a slow painful death for 14 years. She understood the sacrifice her parents paid for her freedom, "He fought for these same freedoms. I was not about to let anyone stomp on those ideals." But Gloria's life was to face many more challenges. Born in Havana, Cuba two years before Fidel Castro's communist government took control of the island nation, Gloria's family immigrated to Miami, Florida as did many other exiles in 1959. Gloria not only cared for her sick father, but her younger sister while her mother worked at a local high school. She would spend her free time playing guitar in her room. She went to Catholic High School in Miami and met Emilio Estefan when he came to her school to offer advice on music. The two played at a friend's wedding but Gloria, being extremely shy, did not want to continue her music career preferring to focus on becoming an interpreter. She was accepted to Miami University on a partial scholarship in 1975. In spite of her shyness, she was encouraged to become an accompanist and occasional lead singer of Emilio's Cuban-American group called the Miami Latin Boys. She married Emilio in 1978, shortly afterwards collecting her BA degree from the University of Miami. The group accepted her as a permanent member while Emilio became her coach in overcoming the bashfulness. The group changed their name to Miami Sound Machine (MSM) and began performing songs that Gloria wrote. They recorded a several Spanish-language albums, becoming extremely successful not only in the USA and Europe but especially Latin America. MSM’s rise to the top began in 1984, when the band's B-side dance track, "Dr. Beat" made it to the No. 10 spot on the U.S. dance chart. CBS Records moved them from its Hispanic division to Epic records, their international label due to their popularity. The 1985 follow-up to Eyes of Innocence, MSM's first album with Epic, was a huge international hit with the release of top-10 singles such as "Bad Boy" and "Conga". The latter dance hit from the all-English album Primitive Love, became the first single to remain on Billboard's pop, dance, black, and Latin charts simultaneously. "Conga" also appears in the Guiness Book of World Records for an estimated 119,000 people who did the conga in 1988. The group's popularity increased with Gloria singing lead so much that in 1986, it forced a name change to "Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine." Eventually the name was shortened to simply "Gloria Estefan." She released her first solo album in 1989 featuring No. 1 ballads such as "Anything for You," and "Don't Wanna Lose You". Everything seemed to be going Gloria's way, but a year later, tragedy struck. She was involved in a serious accident in Syracuse, New York. Her tour bus was hit from behind by a semi tractor trailer truck. Gloria suffered a broken vertebra and had to undergo massive surgery. She was given little hope for full recovery, but Estefan beat the odds and the prognoses. Drawing on tremendous willpower and the strength and support from her worldwide fans, she underwent a year of physical therapy. " She returned to the stage in March of 1991. Gloria sang at the half time of the Super Bowl in 1992. Estefan's 1993 and 1995 albums next two albums were Spanish-language efforts that distanced her somewhat from the American mainstream, but proved hugely popular in South America. Destiny was her first English-language collection for over five years, featuring "Reach," the theme to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She sang it for the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games. The following year Gloria made her acting debut alongside Meryl Streep in Music Of The Heart. The title song in the soundtrack featured Estefan singing duet with pop sensations 'N Sync. Estefan was the recipient of an Award of Merit at the 2000 American Music Awards. In 2004 she was the featured performer for the Miss Universe pageant held in Ecuador. Thanks to her international appeal, as well as her loyalty to a bi-cultural heritage, she is fondly known as "Nuestra Glorita," which means “our little Gloria.” Estefan has traveled the world as a Cuban-American musician, and she has been an emissary on behalf of the Cuban Exiles. Rolling Stone magazine said, "Estefan wholeheartedly embraces her Cuban heritage with superb arrangements. Gloria and her husband Emilio can be credited with putting Miami on the musical map and reconnecting across a great divide back to their motherland--Cuba". Permission is granted to reprint this article provided the following paragraph is included in full: Jim Mathis, CSP is an international Certified Speaking Professional, executive coach and trainer. To subscribe to his free personal and professional development newsletter, please send an email to: [email protected] with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. 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