v-me

Transcript

Gloria Estefan

Hello! Welcome to Studio Billboard. I'm Leila Cobo, and I want to thank you all for joining us once again on this musical journey. We also want to welcome our studio audience, and everyone who wants to learn more about those who make music. We have the privilege of talking, for an entire hour, with a unique artist who is going to introduce us to her music, and the process behind its creation. You will also have the opportunity to participate with your questions, on the website or here in the studio. Let's get started!

When it comes to Latin music, only a few women have reached such heights... But, she has. She is a singer and composer of pop and tropical music. Her creations are inspired by two main sources, American and Latin music. Maybe, that is her secret. She attended Catholic school in Miami, and she learned to play the guitar when she was very little. As fate would have it, she met Emilio Estefan, who had his own band, at a wedding. He encouraged her to sing and compose with his band. From that moment on, the story of her hits, both in English and Spanish, is endless. "Mi tierra", "Into the Light", "Cuts Both Ways", and "Abriendo puertas" are only a few of her most popular albums. As mother and wife, she has been able to balance her personal life and stardom. Come with me to learn more about her story.

She was born in La Habana, Cuba on September 1st. She was named Gloria Fajardo García. Her mother was a preschool teacher and her father, a policeman. She moved to Miami when she was very little, after Castro's revolution. She met her husband Emilio Estefan at a wedding where he was part of The Miami Latin Boys. She started her musical journey with him. After becoming a star, she survived an accident that almost took her life. Now, with her most recent album, "90 millas", she has become the highest selling Latin artist in the country. She pays tribute to her Latin heritage with the music and culture of Cuba. Let's welcome Gloria Estefan.

[clapping]

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I almost kissed you twice because I was just in Europe, and, it's three kisses in Holland.

Three kisses in Holland?

They kiss a lot.

You're number one in Holland with a CD of Cuban music in Spanish. I find that amazing.

Unbelievable. We made our debut at the top of the charts. It is the first time in the history of that country that a CD in Spanish achieved this. The only other debut like this was in 1991, by Gipsy Kings. So, I'm very honored. It was great.

So, you gave a huge concert, before thousands of people, and everyone was dancing salsa?

150,000 people, by the river in Rotterdam, dancing with a lot of rhythm. But, the amazing part about our fans in Holland is that... It was the first place where our music reached number one on the charts with "Dr. Beat" back in '85...

I didn't know that. So, there is a connection, two "firsts".

Exactly, and that is special to me. When we performed live for the first time, I sang the song "Renacer". That was our first hit in Spanish back in '76. They knew the lyrics, and I didn't know how, because that record had never been on the market there.

It was "Renacer". It was not the same as singing "Dr. Beat".

Exactly. And, they knew the lyrics in Spanish and in English. Whatever I sang, they knew it, and the whole crowd sang along with it. They thought we were an Italian band, and the American label Epic was trying to sign us. We told them, "We have been signed by your international label". It was Sony records at that time, which was CBS before that. At that time, we had big hits in Spanish in Latin America, "Renacer" and "Baila conmigo", different songs. We held a concert there in front of 50,000 people at a stadium, and we came back to Miami to sing at a wedding before 200 people. That gave me a true understanding of what fame means. It really did.

On the other hand, you were begging the radio stations to play your music, and they wouldn't.

Nobody would play local music. The first time I heard "Renacer" on the radio, I had to pull over. I was driving, and my legs were shaking. I pulled over. I listened to it, and I said, "Oh my God! Is this real?" And the first time that "Dr. Beat" was played on an American radio station, we were at a rehearsal, and all of us were frozen. We said, "Oh my God! They're playing our music on an American radio station!" That was unbelievable.

I was told that you just came from your daughter Emily's school.

Yes.

Is it awkward being in Holland one day, playing before 150,000 people, and then the next day, being at the school fair, meeting teachers and school directors?

I love it! It's my number one priority.

I have always admired the balance you have between being a star and a mom, being a star and a wife. I guess it's hard sometimes. Isn't it?

To be honest... Having Emilio by my side has been fabulous because he really is my match. We're a team. When one of us has to do something, and the other one has something else, it doesn't matter. We work together. You do what you have to do.

I want to talk more about Emilio and Nayib, but I want to talk more about when you were little.

I am still little.

[joking]

I'm old,

but I am little.

You were telling me, "I can reach the floor!"

Yes. My feet are touching the floor. They usually can't reach the floor.

When you left Cuba, I remember that you once told me that of the few things your mother was allowed to take with her were her records.

Because she wasn't even allowed to take her diploma with her. Her PhD diploma in Pedagogy was ripped apart in front of her at the airport. She was told she had to start again from scratch, and that she couldn't use the Cuban education she had received there. So, little by little, my grandmother would send her the records sung by Cachao. I remember sitting down with the records by Celia Cruz, Orquesta Aragón, Olga Guillot. That was the music I first listened to. Both my mom's and dad's families were music lovers, and I was raised to be like that. After that, there was Joselito. He was a Spanish child who was a movie actor. He had a very cute face and the voice of an angel. My mom tried to find his record to buy it for me. I would learn his songs. I can still remember many of them. I used to sing them when I was three or four years old.

Do you remember one of them, so you can sing a couple of lines for us?

I think I do. Wait.

Una vez un ruiseñor con la clara de la aurora quedó preso de una flor lejos de su ruiseñora y esperando su vuelta en el nido ella vio que la tarde moría.

Y a la noche cantándole al río medio loca de amor le decía: ¿dónde estará mi vida, por qué no viene, qué rosita encendía me lo entretiene?

Agua clara que camina entre puntos y vitrales dile que tienen espinas las rosas de los rosales...

Well it keeps on going but...

It's very nice!

It's a short one. Thanks. God. I have a good memory. I was very shy, though. I used to stare at the ground while holding my guitar. I used to sing in front of my mother's friends and my grandmother. They were my only audience. I was very shy. I never imagined I would...

It didn't cross your mind?

No way. I didn't like being the center of attention. It's not part of my personality. What I really love is composing. When I entered The Miami Latin Boys, it was just for fun. Everyone in the band was supporting me, and I felt like I was just "one of the guys". Little by little I started to get more involved. I did it because I loved the rehearsals, and I loved when we started to compose and write songs. But, having to stand up and sing was hard for me.

Tell us a little about how you met Emilio. Did you really meet him at a wedding? Was he playing in the band, or was he just there for the party?

No, no. I actually met him a month before that. He wanted to put together a band to play at a family gathering. It was a religious group that got parents together, and they had meetings on weekends. Emilio wanted to create a band that would play on the final day. He called me and some other people. Somebody was playing on the piano, and a man who was working at Bacardi knew Emilio. Emilio had been in The Miami Latin Boys for a year. That was his band. He started it with an accordion, and he added some instruments, little by little. When I met him, he was already famous. He had already played for the mayor of the city, there were like nine musicians... He had it all. And then, he was invited to play, and he arrived wearing shorts that his mom had made for him! So, while he was holding the accordion, you could only see his legs and hands.

So, he didn't have a lot of sex appeal?

But he really has nice legs!

I don't know him that well.

His legs are really nice. So, he got us to thinking. He left, and my mother practically dragged me to a wedding a month later, in the summer. I had just finished high school, and I was working at the airport because I was studying French. I was hired for a job in customs. I used to work from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, six days a week, as a Spanish-English-French interpreter.

At least, it was kind of interesting.

That was a very interesting job. So, I went to the wedding. My mother told me about going. I went in, and I saw a guy playing "Do the Hustle" on the accordion with his band. That is a disco song...

And, he was wearing long pants.

He was, thank God! And, I remembered him. We ran into each other at the door, and he said, "I remember you. Aren't you that girl...?" I said, "Yes". And he asked, "Do you sing with the group?" And my mother said, "Yes! She sings with the group." I sang "Sabor a mí", "Tú me acostumbraste", two very old Cuban songs.

Right then?

Yes. They knew those songs. Bands usually hate when people do that... Anyway, Emilio said, "She is a good singer". They gave me a round of applause. They had known me since I was a baby. So, he tells me that night, "Look. We don't have a singer. Do you want to join our band?" I told him, "Look. I can't. I'm going to go to school. I will start in September, and I have a full-time job, so I won't be able to do it... but thanks". Two weeks later he called me again and said, "Look. We only rehearse, in the evening, twice a week. We only play on the weekends. You don't have to change your plans." And, I liked the idea. So, I took my grandmother, my sister, and my mother with me to the apartment where Emilio lived with his parents.

The chaperones.

Exactly. My grandmother had to approve of him. She really loved Emilio. So, the entire building had to dance sometimes, because they...

Ha, ha, ha.

They would rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They were really loud! So, I told my mom, "I want to do this." And she said, "Are you going to quit school?" I said, "No, I won't quit school." And that was it...

That was it?

Yes.

Before going to a commercial break, can you play something from that time? Two verses?

Let's see if I can remember it.

"Tú Me Acostumbraste"...

I would have filed my nails if I had known that you were going to ask...

I'm not going to make you file your nails before playing for the president of Panamá.

Yes, well... Just a little to be able to play well. Let's see...

Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor, nuestras almas se acercaron tanto así que yo guardo tu sabor pero tú llevas también sabor a mí.

Only a little bit... You will have more time later.

Thanks.

Ok. We have to take a break. When we return, we will learn more about the life and the music of Gloria Estefan. Stay tuned.

[clapping]

We continue enjoying the company of Gloria Estefan and learning about her amazing career. Gloria, you were telling me... When you started to sing in Emilio's band... Was it already called The Miami Sound Machine?

No. They changed the name when we recorded our first record, and they realized that I wasn't going anywhere... and that we were not only boys. The small company that signed us, named us. I wanted the band to be called "Miami". I never liked the name "Miami Sound Machine" because it sounded like heavy metal, but we were human. But, it turned out to be okay. So, I am glad that they kept that as the name of the band.

When you joined, it was a band that used to play at events. It was like a wedding band, right?

Latin music. We used to play "Cachita", "Palo Palo", tropical party music. We used to play at quinceañera parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs. I sang well "Hava Nagila".

When did it change from a cover and wedding band to a band with original music?

The first time I sang with the group was October 25, 1975. That was a very special night for me. It was in Dupont Plaza at a Santiaguero party that Emilio had organized because he is from Santiago.

Was Gloria Estefan part of the band already?

Yes, I was part of the band. It was my first night with them, and it was funny because I was hiding behind the congas playing maracas. I only sang two songs, including "What a Difference a Day Makes", the disco version, because they usually sang only Latin music. I knew a lot of pop songs in English, and they learned those songs from me. So, suddenly, we could sing all kinds of music in both languages.

Ok.

And then, Emilio told me, "I want to record an album. Have you written any songs?" I told him, "I haven't ever written songs, but I have written poetry all my life. I have written short stories and things like that. I can try." So, I wrote the first song called "Tu Amor Conmigo", and it was included on side B of "Renacer". I had written that song to be played as a ballad, but we needed something more tropical. So, we played it as a fast song. That record was on the market in 1976... Around February, I think.

That's how it happened?

We recorded it in two days. There was no budget. We came in the recording studio, and we did it very quickly, one after the other. Then, "Renacer" reached number one right away. So, there was a time when we had to make the decision to stop playing at parties in Miami. As I told you, we used to go to Latin America and have huge concerts. But when we came back, we played at small weddings. I talked with Emilio, and we said, "If we keep doing this, we will never get anywhere".

Of course.

We really wanted to grow, and we had to spend a lot of money. When we said that we were not going to play at parties anymore, we were offered more money. We had to say, "No, no, no! We can't". And we started to travel and make promotional trips to different countries.

Do you remember what kind of music you used to listen to in your free time?

I have been interested always in the lyrics of songs. I think one of the greatest composers is Stevie Wonder. "Songs In The Key Of Life" is one of my favorite records and "Innervisions". Everything by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", and "Tapestry" by Carole King. I continued to listen to my moms' records, the Latin ones... because that's what she used to play. Javier Solís... She loved him. I loved him, too. Johnny Mathis... I have always had a very eclectic taste. I loved singer-songwriters because they affected me very deeply.

Yes. So, Emilio told you, "Write something." And you wrote the lyrics and the music?

Yes, lyrics and music.

Both?

Yes.

The first song on the English speaking market was "Dr. Beat"?

"Dr. Beat". It was funny because Emilio and I recorded our seventh album, which was the fourth one with Sony. And we had always stated in the contract that we should be allowed to sing in English whenever we wanted to.

When you say "seventh album", are you talking about your seventh long play?

Long play, LP. Yes, the seventh, because we made the first three, as I told you, by ourselves. They signed us, and asked if we recorded mostly in Spanish. We told them, "Ok, but we also want to have the chance to record in English, at some point." We recorded our fourth album with them, which was the seventh in our career. We included "Dr. Beat" and "I Need A Man". Emilio and I were in Puerto Rico, and there was an amazing DJ. I was told he was a "big fan" and that he made great remixes. We went to see him, we did the cover Emilio and I, here in Miami, went to all of the places that, at that time, were called record pools. We didn't know that the records made here were sent to Europe. A couple of weeks later, we were number one in Europe. And we didn't know it.

With the remix?

With the remix of "Dr. Beat". We received calls right away saying, "You have to be here to promote". We went there, and we were in Utrecht, a city in Holland... We were number one in Holland again. Very fortunate for us. We were singing, and when we finished, we sang "Dr. Beat". We only had two songs in English at that time, and the album was called "A Toda Máquina". We did it in English in two days. We got into the recording studio, and we recorded what was called "Eyes of Innocence". We sang, and then the audience said, "We want more! We want more! So, I said, "What do we do now? We don't have anymore songs!" Emilio said, "Let's play those congas santiagueras that I used to play with the accordion. I said, "But, that is in Spanish!" and he replied, "They don't speak English either!"

Ha, ha, ha.

"It doesn't matter." I said, "Ok. That's true." We sang a medley with congas and old Cuban songs, and the Dutch went crazy. We were standing outside, it was late at night, the show was over... and I told the drummer, "We have to write a song about this rhythm and blend it with other rhythms." Like we did in "Dr. Beat", which was an Afro-Cuban mix with rhythm and blues, funk, and everything. He wrote the song "Conga" on the plane from Holland to London, and he recorded it on a small tape recorder and "playing the drums" on the plane table. So, we had to convince the Latin record label to let us record an album completely in English. When they saw the money they were getting thanks to the sales of "Dr. Beat"... The LP was on the Top 20 in Spanish in England and it started to sell like hot cakes. I said, "Ok, See? Everything's perfect".

Gloria... I know that you are going to refuse... but if you had to choose one song from those times... Which one can you point to as the one that changed everything for the band? Would it be "Conga", or which one?

I think it would have to be "Dr. Beat", because that was the one that changed everything. After that, everything became easier.

What do you prefer to sing? Things like "Dr. Beat" and "Conga" or ballads?

It wouldn't be right for me to choose one. As a songwriter, obviously I like ballads better because you can include a lot of feelings... But we make people have a lot of fun with the rhythm. I really think that is what made the band attractive to different markets, everywhere in the world... because rhythm doesn't need a language. You don't have to understand the words. You feel it, or you don't. That's what made us successful.

How do you compose? Do you write the lyrics first, or the lyrics and the music at the same time?

It depends. The songs I have written by myself usually have the lyrics and the music together. I take my guitar somewhere... sitting in my room... For example, when I was writing "Unwrapped", which is one of my favorite albums as a songwriter, I was just doing...

§§

And that is how "Famous" was born because the melody actually starts like this: Who in this world sees when I cry? And then, everything came together. I wrote it in 15 or 20 minutes. That song came really quickly. I was with Emilio in the kitchen on a Sunday, working on a ballad. I said, "Look. I want to recreate this melody because I really love it. I'm not going to use anything from the song I wrote in English because I think I should start the song all over again". I started with the melody, and I sang to him. I started to sing, and he took a seat. We were both playing the guitar, and he sang: Sé que aún me queda una oportunidad... That part was not in the original song. So, he started with this idea, and we finished the song in about 15 or 20 minutes: Con los años que me quedan yo viviré por darte amor, borrando cada dolor con besos llenos de pasión como te amé por vez primera.

It was a biography. He said, "I have to do something". His parents lived across the street. He had made them move to have them closer to him, and he went to see his parents everyday. His father said, "I feel that years are flying away from me, and I see that time is slipping by." Emilio felt that he was losing his parents, so he started with that idea, and it ended up...

What a beautiful story.

And, it all started there.

The audience has some questions. Ok?

(Continue to[Page 2])

Gloria Estefan in Estudio Billboard [1] [2]