Gloria sings the backing vocals in the chorus of Celia Cruz' "Sazon"

Gloria once said she gets kinda sick when she's apart from the Miami Sun for too long (like when she's on tour)

About Gloria's father. Her father Jose was among the Cuban exiles who participated in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, the unsuccessful attempt to oust Castro from power. Jose spent a year and a half in a Cuban prison, and during this time Gloria and her mother lived in a Cuban ghetto near the Orange Bowl in Miami. Misfortune continued to follow her dad. He was badly poisoned by the defoliant, Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. When her mother went out to make a living, Gloria had to act as nurse and tend to her invalid father. He died in 1980, a few weeks after Nayib was born.

Around the year 1975 she met Emilio. Emilio came to her high school to offer advice on music. and later they re-met at a wedding. Gloria's mother could confince her to sing a song with Emilio's band "the Miami Latin Boys" who performed at the wedding.

She married Emilio in 1977. (For wedding pics go to the page "The Estefans & Family")

There is a street in Miami named after the Miami Sound Machine: The Miami Sound Machine Boulevard.

March 20, 1990 -Having just met with President George Bush to discuss participation in an anti-drugs campaign, As Gloria slept in her tour bus which had stopped along a Pennsylvania Interstate highway, a speeding semi-truck smashed into it from behind. She knew immediately that her back was broken. A delicate surgery was performed that required two 8-inch titanium rods to be placed on either side of her spine. The operation was a success. She needed 400 stiches to close the 14-inch incision. But within one year of the accident she was performing on stage again.

She received 5 million for loss of earnings caused by the accident + 4,000 floral arrangements, 11,000 telegrams, and 50,000 postcards and letters from fans who stood by her until she recovered.

Gloria's first performance after her accident was at the American Music Awards January 1991

Educated at Catholic high school in Miami after moving there from Cuba at the age of two, she first learned to play guitar and sing during her leisure hours

Gloria Estefan wone a court case for Bongo's cafe name. Read more!

"Conga" also appears in the Guinness Book of World Records, as an estimated 119,000 people did the conga in 1988.

1995 a jetskier crashed into the yacht of the Estefans and died.

The Miami-Cuban community called Gloria "nuestra Glorita" ("our little Gloria")

the song "Go Away" was meant for Fidel Castro.

Gloria's favorite dogs are Dalmatians. Emilio gave her 2 after the accident. Their names are Lucy & Ricky from the soap "I Love Lucy".

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