NEW YORK – Singer Gloria Estefan became the first Latina woman to be inducted into the US Songwriters Hall of Fame last night, at an event in New York where she stated that music was her refuge when her family left Cuba to start a new life in another country and with a new language.
Estefan took the stage while the music of Conga was heard, a hit by the Miami Sound Machine group with which he became known, and the audience stood up moving their bodies to the rhythm of the song.
The Latin star was grateful to be included in the exclusive group of composers and thus make a dream come true.
“Music saved my life when my family was forced to start a new life. Music was my therapy,” said the singer-songwriter who immigrated to the United States when she was 16.
The singer attended the event at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square along with her husband Emilio, who was the one who gave her the news that she would enter the Composers Hall, and other members of her family.
Upon arrival on the red carpet, “Gloria, Gloria” was heard from a group of admirers who waited for several hours in front of the hotel and, after the ceremony, remained in the same place.
Estefan, who has sold more than 100 million records and won innumerable awards and recognitions such as the Medal of Freedom, the highest award for civil merit in the United States awarded by President Barack Obama, recalled how over the years in this country he was discovering composers whose music was a catharsis before his “pain” and “frustration”.
He stressed that music has also allowed him to connect with many people around the world.
The artist performed a medley of songs in English and for the “Conga” she called her 11-year-old grandson to the stage, who sang with his grandmother while his grandfather Emilio played the congas like in the old days of the Miami Sound Machine, in this occasion, accompanied by his daughter Emily.
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The singer-songwriter told EFE upon her arrival at the event that when looking at her career it seems to her that time has passed very quickly.
“It has been so fast that I can’t imagine how I am now at this point in my life. Each step has been spectacular and I have done it together with Emilio. Each moment has been a blessing, a privilege to make music that reaches his heart and other people’s minds,” he said.
“Other people’s music saved my life, it was my catharsis, my way of escaping from difficult things that I experienced as a child. Being able to reach other people is the best thing I could ask for,” said the artist.
He also told EFE that of his compositions, the most significant is “Con los años que me quedan”, which “I composed with Emilio, in a housecoat, in the kitchen of our house, and which has become a wedding song worldwide. It means a lot to me and to Emilio.”
Gloria Estefan also had the support of Desmond Child, of Cuban origin and composer of Ricky Martin’s hit “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” “She is our muse. I came to support her, to shout Gloria,” she told EFE.
Other songwriters inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday included Glen Ballard, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose.
Composers Tim Rice, who has been featured alongside Lloyd Webber for hit Broadway musicals, and Post Malone received special recognition.
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