Gloria Estefan: Get On Your Feet

There are several well-known music icons who have struggled with depression, such as Mindy Mccready, Naomi Judd, and others. However, there are some music icons, including Gloria Estefan, who are determined to return to the stage with everything they have.

In 1957, Gloria Estefan was born Gloria Fajardo in Havana, Cuba. Her family fled the country when Gloria was a toddler. She met her future husband, keyboardist Emilio Estefan, in 1975, who was a member of a band called the Miami Latin Boys. The band was renamed the Miami Sound Machine after Estefan became the lead singer. The band scored several top ten hits during the 1980s and 1990s.

As a child, Gloria Estefan wrote poetry and studied classical guitar, which she found tedious. She had no idea that someday she would become a popular and well-loved music star.

Upon the return of her father from Vietnam when she was a teenager, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and music became her escape. As a result of meeting Keyboardist Emilio Estefan, who would later become her husband, she would become the lead singer in the band, which would later be renamed The Miami Sound Machine. Song such as The Conga would propel her to stardom.

In 1990, Gloria Estefan had become one of the biggest pop stars in the world. With the Miami Sound Machine, she had dominated the charts with Latin pop hits such as "Conga," "1-2-3," and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You." In addition to her dance floor hits, Estefan scored two hit ballads. Her performance was engaging and dynamic. She performed a medley of "Here We Are" and "Get on Your Feet" at the 1990 American Music Awards.

Despite Gloria Estefan appearing to be on top of the world in 1990, her bus tour was involved in an accident on March 20, 1990, with a tractor-trailer near the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, which was impacted by snowfall at that time. The couple’s young son, Nayib, suffered a fractured shoulder, and Emilio suffered minor head and hand injuries, however Gloria Estefan suffered a broken vertebra in her back. In a four-hour operation several days later, surgeons realigned Estefan’s spine and implanted steel rods to reinforce the fracture. Gloria Estefan retired to Star Island, uncertain of a full recovery, but she was not one to give up easily.

Jon Bon Jovi performed at the American Music Awards on January 28th, 1991. After introducing the clip package, he summarized Gloria Estefan's rise to the top of the charts, the accident, and her extensive recovery. The stage backdrop was lifted, and a spotlight shone down on Estefan. Estefan was visibly moved by the standing ovation he received from the audience. A smile spread across her face as she bowed her head and pinched her nose to regain her composure. She wowed the audience with her performance of Coming out of the Dark!

Gloria’s daughter Emily was born in 1994. In March 1991, she launched a year-long tour in support of her comeback album Into the Light. During the next four years, she released four new albums and embarked on a world tour, not bad for someone who had been told she would likely never walk again.

In 2006, Gloria found another outlet for her creative energy by writing two picture books for children, The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog (2005) and Noelle’s Treasure Tale (2006).

It is clear that Gloria Estefan has shown the world what a fighter looks like with her cookbook, acting career, and continued musical career.

Revised April.13.2023

Copyright ©️ Michelle R Kidwell 2022, Revised 2023