Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan (birth name Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo, born September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba), is a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who began her career as lead vocalist for the then exclusively Spanish-language band, Miami Sound Machine, in 1975, and crossed over to mainstream popular success with English-speaking audiences with the international hit singles, Dr. Beat (1984) and Conga (1986).

Comeback

1993's Mi Tierra saw Estefan return to her Cuban roots with a Spanish-language album, for which she won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. Mi Tierra was a successful album worldwide, with over eight million copies sold. In Spain, Mi Tierra became the country's best selling international album ever.

Related Topics:
1993 - Grammy Award - Spain

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The Classics Collection Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, a cover album, was released in 1994. "Turn the Beat Around", the first single, a disco hit from the 1970s, became one of the most successful singles of the 1990s. "Everlasting Love" was a successful club and pop hit.

Related Topics:
1994 - Disco - 1970 - 1990s

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1995's Spanish-language album Abriendo Puertas earned Estefan her second Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. It spun off two #1 Dance hits, "Abriendo Puertas" and "Tres Deseos", and two #1 Latin singles, "Abriendo Puertas" and "Mas Alla." The Miami Herald called Abriendo Puertas "a danceable pan-Latin American fusion, brilliantly built on improbable instrumental combinations and layers of styles and rhythms." In 1995, Estefan sang the Billboard Latin #1 song "Mas Alla" for the late Pope John Paul II as part of the celebration of his 50th anniversary in the priesthood. She was the first pop star invited to perform for the Pope. At their meeting, Estefan, an anti-communist Catholic, asked the Pope to pray for a free Cuba. She has been an active opponent of Fidel Castro's government, and supported the unsuccessful effort to keep young Elián González in the United States.

Related Topics:
1995 - The Miami Herald - Pope John Paul II - Anti-communist - Catholic - Elián González

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The Platinum album Destiny, released in 1996, featured "Reach," the official theme of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. Estefan performed in the opening ceremony, in front of an audience of 2 billion people worldwide.

Related Topics:
Destiny - 1996 - 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics

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