Beginning her career in 1975 as lead vocalist for the then exclusively Spanish-language band, Miami Sound Machine, before crossing over to mainstream pop success with the international hit singles "Dr. Beat" (1984) and "Conga" (1986), Estefan emerged as one of the biggest new stars in the mid-'80s, predating the still nascent Latin pop explosion by a decade, and scoring a series of propulsive dance hits rooted in the rhythms of her native Cuba, before shifting her focus to softer, more ballad-oriented fare.
Born in Havana, Cuba, the young Gloria Fajardo was raised primarily in Miami, FL, after her father, a bodyguard of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista, was forced to flee the island following the 1959 coup helmed by Fidel Castro. In the fall of 1975, Fajardo and her cousin Merci Murciano auditioned for the Miami Latin Boys, a local wedding band headed by keyboardist Emilio Estefan. With their addition, the group was rechristened Miami Sound Machine and four years later, Fajardo and Estefan were wed. As Miami Sound Machine began composing their own original material, their fusion of pop, disco, and salsa earned a devoted local following, and in 1979 the group issued their first Spanish-language LP on CBS International. Despite a growing Hispanic fan base, they did not cross over to non-Latin audiences until "Dr. Beat" topped European dance charts in 1984.
With 1985's Primitive Love, Miami Sound Machine recorded their first English-language effort, scoring three Top Ten pop hits in the U.S. alone with the infectious "Conga", "Bad Boy", and "Words Get in the Way". Following 1987's triple-platinum Let It Loose, Estefan took top billing and the group changed its name to Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine in 1988, reeling off four Top Ten hits - "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Can't Stay Away from You", the chart-topping "Anything for You", and "1-2-3". 1989's Cuts Both Ways was credited to Estefan alone and generated her second #1 hit, "Don't Wanna Lose You". However, on March 20, 1990, while touring in support of the album, her bus was struck by a tractor trailer. Estefan suffered a broken vertebra that required extensive surgery and kept her off the road for over a year. Her husband Emilio and the couple's son were injured in the crash as well, but all three recovered. Estefan resurfaced in 1991 with Into the Light, again topping the charts with "Coming Out of the Dark", a single inspired by her near-fatal accident. Two more cuts from the album, "Can't Forget You" and "Live for Loving You", secured her foothold on the adult contemporary charts.
With 1993's Mi Tierra, Estefan returned to her roots, recording her first Spanish-language record in nearly a decade and earning a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album; on the follow-up 1994 covers collection, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, she also recalled her dance-pop origins with a rendition of the Vicki Sue Robinson disco classic, "Turn the Beat Around". Another all-Spanish effort, Abriendo Puertas (1995), earned her a Grammy as well, while Destiny featured "Reach", named the official theme of the 1996 Summer Olympics. As Latin pop made new commercial headway, thanks to the efforts of acts like Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Estefan reigned as the most successful crossover artist in Latin music history, with international record sales close to the 50 million mark. In 1999, she also made her feature film debut alongside Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart, recording the film's title song as a duet with *NSYNC, and scoring both a massive pop hit and an Oscar nomination in the process. A new Spanish-language album, Alma Caribeña, followed in the spring of 2000. Several months later, Estefan was awarded a Grammy for Best Music Video for "No Me Dehes de Querer" at the inaugural annual Latin Grammy Awards. Her husband, Emilio, won for Producer of the Year. - Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Appearances and tours
In April 2004, Estefan appeared on the Fox Broadcasting Company’s program, American Idol, but declined an offer to be an official judge, saying she did not like to “judge” others.
On July 28, 2004, in a press conference hosted by Donald Trump at the Trump Tower, Estefan announced that her then-upcoming tour would be her final one. The Live and Re-Wrapped Summer/Fall 2004 Tour, her first tour in eight years was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment. The tour featured Estefan’s greatest hits, along with new material from Unwrapped.
In December 2006, Estefan appeared as a special guest singer on the UK talent show The X Factor.
Gloria's 11th studio album,Miss Little Havana. The Miss Little Havana Songfacts says that the first nine tracks tells the tale of a young girl who hooks up with the wrong guy in Miami after moving there from Cuba. All of these tracks were written or co-written by Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. It is described by Estefan as a project in the vein of her 1998 hit album gloria!.
Songfacts reports that "Hotel Nacional" debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin countdown - the first time a female artist had achieved that feat since the chart was introduced in 1986. Both "Wepa" and "Hotel Nacional" achieved number one on Billboard Latin Songs and on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.
Estefan started a reality show called The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep opposite Joe Jonas, Nelly and John Rich on the CW Network, where she, and the other three mentors are searched for the next big star, to record an album with Atlantic Records. Unlike other music reality shows, in this program, the mentors selected the "candidates" for the show, and trained them for a live performance, where they'd be voted for the best act of the day. The first season ended in October 2012, with musician Michael Ray, as the big finalist.
This same year, Estefan appeared as a musical guest in Tony Bennett's compilation of duets with Latin-American musicians, Viva Duets with a rendition of the song, "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)". Weeks later, she helped the American version of Teleton, releasing the charity single "Por Un Mundo Mejor" along with Mexican singer Lucero, Dominican rapper El Cata and Mexican pop band, Reik. A video for the song was shot, with them recording the song, which was marked as the official hymn for the foundation.
In May 2013, she appears doing another duet with the song "Think I'm In Love Again" as part of the albums Duets released by Paul Anka.
Estefan has announced she was working on a new album of covers, The Standards, released in September 2013. The album will feature some collaborations with artists like Laura Pausini, Dave Koz and Joshua Bell, and the selection of songs are mostly songs from the Great American songbook. Estefan released the first single, "How Long Has This Been Going On?", digitally on Amazon and iTunes on July 9, 2013
Official website: http://www.gloriaestefan.com
Me Odio
Gloria Estefan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me castigas cuando estoy sin verte
Solamente de imaginarte
Yo me muero por acariciarte
Sentir tu boca besar la mía
Por eso a todo yo me amiesgaría
Estoy pensando de noche why día
Te llevo en mi sangre, no puedo engañarme
Con cada latido te quiero más why más
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
No pensé que me enamoraría
Pero tus ojos fueron brujería
Me cumpliste una profecía
Why desbordaste un corazón que estaba en sequía
Me odio por tanto quererte
Me vuelvo loca si fuera a perderte
Why aunque este amor no lo cambiaría
Como yo te quiero a ti es una agonía
Te llevo en mi sangre, no puedo engañarme
Con cada latido te quiero más why más
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
Será que solo vivo pa' quererte
Me muero si no pudiera tenerte
Te llevo en mi sangre, no puedo engañarme
Con cada latído te quiero más why más
Tus ojos fueron brujería
Noche a noche, día a día
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
Me odio por tanto quererte
In Gloria Estefan's song "Me Odio," the lyrics convey a message of intense love and longing for the person she loves. The opening line "Me odio por tanto quererte" translates to "I hate myself for loving you so much," indicating the depth of her feelings. She feels punished when she is away from her lover and imagines caressing them constantly. The desire to feel their lips on hers is so great that she is willing to take risks for it.
Throughout the song, she conveys the extent of her love for this person, stating that they are in her blood, and she cannot deceive herself. She begs them to stay, confesses her love, and cannot go a minute without thinking of them. The chorus is repeated several times, emphasizing how much she needs this person in her life.
The lyrics also portray a sense of helplessness, as she states that she would die without this person, and it's an agony to love them so much. The song's overall theme is that love can become an obsession, and it can take control over every aspect of your life. The desperation and longing conveyed in the lyrics, combined with Gloria Estefan's soulful voice, create a potent emotional connection with the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Me odio por tanto quererte
I hate myself for loving you so much
Me castigas cuando estoy sin verte
I punish myself when I'm away from you
Solamente de imaginarte
Just the thought of you
Yo me muero por acariciarte
I die to touch you
Sentir tu boca besar la mía
To feel your lips on mine
Por eso a todo yo me arriesgaría
That's why I'd risk it all
Estoy pensando de noche y día
I think about you day and night
Por tenerte todo lo daría
I'd give everything to have you
Te llevo en mi sangre, no puedo engañarme
You're in my blood, I can't deceive myself
Con cada latido te quiero más y más
With every beat, I love you more and more
Te ruego, te amo, te busco, te extraño
I plead, love, search and miss you
Sin ti ni un minuto yo quiero estar
I don't want to spend a single minute without you
No pensé que me enamoraría
I didn't think I'd fall in love
Pero tus ojos fueron brujería
But your eyes were magic
Me cumpliste una profecía
You fulfilled a prophecy
Y desbordaste un corazón que estaba en sequía
And overflowed a heart that was dry
Me vuelvo loca si fuera a perderte
I'd go crazy if I lost you
Y aunque este amor no lo cambiaría
And even though I wouldn't change this love
Como yo te quiero a ti es una agonía
Loving you is agony
Será que solo vivo pa' quererte
Maybe I only live to love you
Me muero si no pudiera tenerte
I'd die if I couldn't have you
Noche a noche, día a día
Night after night, day after day
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALBERTO GAITAN, EMILIO JR. ESTEFAN, GLORIA M. ESTEFAN, RICARDO ALFREDO GAITAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind