|
 For more
than 20 years, Gloria Estefan has captivated the world with
music that spans a variety of genres. The award-winning singer,
songwriter, producer, entertainer, entrepreneur, writer, actress
and philanthropist not only used her talents to break down
musical barriers, but also to help those less fortunate. And for
that, she’s become an icon of Miami.
“There are so many people who
have told me that my music helped them through a rough time in
their life,” Estefan said. “What can be better than that?”
Estefan’s career began in the
late ’70s, when her now-husband Emilio asked her to sing with
The Latin Boys. The two married four years later. The group
became Miami Sound Machine and, by the 1980s, crossed over to
achieve mainstream success with English-speaking audiences with
such international smash singles as “Dr. Beat,” “Conga” and the
platinum “Don't Wanna Lose You.” Her songs reached No. 1 on the
pop, dance, adult, Latin and salsa charts, selling 90 million
albums worldwide, and she even received an Oscar nomination for
the title song in the movie Music of the Heart, in which
she appeared opposite Meryl Streep.
After a critical spinal cord
injury in 1990, Estefan fought through intensive physical
therapy and, a year later, released the breakthrough concept
album Into the Light, featuring the No. 1 hit “Coming Out
of the Dark.”
And that’s exactly what she
did.
In the years that followed,
Estefan became almost as well-known for her humanitarian and
philanthropic efforts as for her lyrics.
In 1993, she received the
Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award
given to a naturalized U.S. citizen. She won the Hispanic
Heritage Award, an MTV Video Music Award, two cable television
ACE Awards, the 1993 National Music Foundation’s Humanitarian of
the Year Award and the American Music Award for Lifetime
Achievement. She was named Musicares’ Person of the Year in
1994.
She served as chair of the
capital campaign that raised $40 million to build the Lois Pope
LIFE Center, home to The Miami Project, which opened in 2000. In
2002, she received the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
Medallion of Excellence for Community Service.
The Gloria Estefan
Foundation, started 10 years ago by Gloria and Emilio and funded
with their recording proceeds and personal income, has given out
more than $3 million to people in need. In February, the singer
held a benefit concert at her mansion.
“I set out to
do something I really love and live my life,” Estefan said. “I
always knew I would help people in some way. I knew that would
be my calling. Fame? I never looked for that. I just wanted to
leave something behind for people to enjoy.” |
