Gloria Estefan is a famous performer who has been called the queen of Latin American pop music. During her musical career, she managed to sell 45 million records. But what was the path to fame, and what difficulties did Gloria have to go through?
Childhood Gloria Estefan
The real name of the star is: Gloria Maria Milagrossa Faillardo Garcia. She was born on September 1, 1956 in Cuba. The father was a soldier who held a high post in the guard of the guarantor Fulgencio Batista.
When the girl was not even 2 years old, her family decided to leave the country, moved to Miami. It was caused by the Cuban communist revolution and the rise to power of Fidel Castro.
But after a while, Gloria's father decided to join the rebels and fight the new president. This led to his arrest and imprisonment in a Cuban prison for 1,5 years.
Then he was sent to Vietnam for two years, which had a very negative impact on his health. The man could no longer provide for his family, and this concern fell on the shoulders of his wife.
So the mother of the future star began to work, while simultaneously studying at night school. Gloria had to take over housekeeping, as well as taking care of her sister and dad.
The family lived very poorly, and in her memoirs, Estefan said that the dwelling was miserable and abounded with various insects. Among the inhabitants of Miami, they were outcasts. The only salvation then for the girl was music.
Youth, marriage and children
In 1975, Gloria became a university student, studying psychology, and soon discovered the local musical underground.
She was invited to the Cuban-American quartet Miami latin boys. Her new friend Emilio Estefan contributed to this. He was a very mobile guy, and already in his years he performed in restaurants. It was he who invited Gloria to become a singer at one of the holidays, after which their joint history began.
After some time, Emilio became Gloria's boyfriend, with whom they played a magnificent wedding in 1978. In just two years, the son Nayib was born, and in 1994 the couple became the parents of a wonderful daughter.
Subsequently, she became a recording artist, and her son devoted his life to the profession of director. By the way, he was the first to give Gloria a grandson. This event happened in June 2012.
Creativity Gloria Estefan
Miami Sound Machine's debut albums were released between 1977 and 1983. But they were Hispanic, and the first single, Dr. Beat was released in English in 1984.
He immediately appeared in the top 10 of the American dance music chart. From that moment on, most of the songs became English, and the main hit was Conga, which brought the group huge success and many music awards.
Then several major contracts were signed, and the album Let It Loose was released, in the description of which the name Gloria Estefan was on the first pages.
And already in 1989, Estefan released her first solo album, Cuts Both Ways. She became a favorite performer not only of Americans, but also of residents of other countries of the world. After all, notes of Spanish, English, Colombian and Peruvian rhythms were traced in her hits.
Car accident
In March 1990, trouble knocked on the door of Gloria Estefan. While on tour in Pennsylvania, she was in a car accident. Doctors diagnosed many fractures, including displacement of the vertebrae.
The star had to undergo several difficult operations, and even after them, doctors questioned the possibility of normal movement. But the performer managed to overcome the disease.
She fruitfully worked with rehabilitation specialists, swam in the pool and did aerobics. During the period of illness, fans flooded her with letters of support, and, according to the singer, it was they who greatly contributed to her recovery.
The height of a singer's career
After an illness, Gloria returned to the stage in 1993. The released album was in Spanish, with a circulation of 4 million copies. This Mi Tierra album won a Grammy Award.
Then several more albums were released, and the singer performed one of the Reach songs at the 1996 Olympic Games ceremony, held in Atlanta, USA. In 2003, the album Unwrapped was released, which was the last in the career of the performer.
Other works and hobbies of the artist
In addition to music, Gloria managed to try herself in other areas. She became a member of one of the Broadway musicals. In addition, the singer appeared in two films called "Music of the Heart" (1999) and For Love of Country:
The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000). There was also inspiration in her life that prompted the writing of two children's books. One of them was in the house number 3 for a week, being included in the list of the best books for children.
Also, Gloria, together with her husband, participated in culinary shows, shared recipes for Cuban cuisine with viewers.
But in general, the singer was a rather modest person. Loud scandals and "dirty" stories are not associated with her name. Estefan was not conflict.
She is a loving wife and mother, and her main hobbies at the moment are family, sports and raising grandchildren!
