Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo, September 1, 1957, in Havana, Cu… Read Full Bio ↴Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo, September 1, 1957, in Havana, Cuba) is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, actress and social activist. Known as the "Queen of Latin Pop", she in the top 100 best-selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those in the United States. Estefan is the most successful crossover performer in Latin music to date.

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

Tus Ojos
Gloria Estefan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tus ojos, claro del monte
Como guitarras trovadoras, de San Juan
Tus ojos, son mi suplicio
Son mi perdón, mi redención, mi despertar

Tus ojos que me arrebatan
Son mi locura, son la plena perdición
Tus ojos lo tienen todo

Nada me falta porque son mi bendición

Tus ojos que tienen mi ausencia
Como dulce y fresco sereno del mar
Tus ojos son mi equilibrio
Son mi libertad

(Mírame) dame fuerza why alivio
(Mírame) es lo que necesito
(Mírame) para tenerlo todo
Solo basta quedarme, fundida en tus ojos

(Mírame) que es la paz tu mirada
(Mírame) que mi dicha no alcanza
(Mírame) que la luz y la calma
Que me brindan tus ojos, tranquilizan mi alma

Tus ojos, dulce esperanza
Remedio y cáliz de ese sorbo de tu amor
Tus ojos, son el camino
Donde abre paso mi desbordada pasión
Tus ojos me llenan el alma
No hay otra riqueza no tengo temor
Tus ojos dulces benditos
Son mi devoción

(Mírame) dame fuerza why alivio
(Mírame) es lo que necesito
(Mírame) para tenerlo todo
Solo basta quedarme, fundida en tus ojos

(Mírame) que es la paz tu mirada
(Mírame) que mi dicha no alcanza
(Mírame) que la luz y la calma
Que me brindan tus ojos, tranquilizan mi alma

(Mírame)
(Mírame)
(Mírame) que la luz y la calma
Que me brindan tus ojos, tranquilizan mi alma

(Mírame) dame fuerza why alivio
(Mírame) es lo que necesito
(Mírame) para tenerlo todo
Solo basta quedarme, fundida en tus ojos

(Mírame) que es la paz tu mirada
(Mírame) que mi dicha no alcanza

(Mírame) que la luz y la calma
Que me brindan tus ojos, tranquilizan mi alma

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Gloria Estefan’s “Tus Ojos” are a passionate declaration of love for the one she loves. She compares the clarity of their eyes to the sound of a guitar from San Juan, imbued with the power to enchant and mesmerize. For her, the eyes of her beloved are a torment and a salvation, a source of madness and complete fulfillment. They are everything she needs and more. Even when she is absent, the eyes of her beloved evoke the sweet serenity of the sea, providing her with balance and freedom. She feels strength and relief when she looks into their eyes, which have the power to give her everything she needs.

As the song continues, Estefan sings about the purity and hope embodied in the eyes of the one she loves. For her, they represent the path to her passion, the remedy to her soul, and a symbol of her devotion. She feels that she lacks nothing in their presence and that their eyes provide everything she needs for complete fulfillment. No matter what happens, she wants to stay lost in their gaze, where she finds peace, tranquility, and happiness.

Overall, the lyrics to “Tus Ojos” offer a heartfelt celebration of true love, its power to nourish and fulfill, and the importance of staying lost in its embrace.

Line by Line Meaning

Tus ojos, claro del monte
Your eyes are as clear as the mountains

Como guitarras trovadoras, de San Juan
Like troubadour guitars from San Juan

Tus ojos, son mi suplicio
Your eyes are my torment

Son mi perdón, mi redención, mi despertar
They are my forgiveness, salvation, and awakening

Tus ojos que me arrebatan
Your eyes that captivate me

Son mi locura, son la plena perdición
They are my madness, my complete downfall

Tus ojos lo tienen todo
Your eyes have everything

Nada me falta porque son mi bendición
I lack nothing because they are my blessing

Tus ojos que tienen mi ausencia
Your eyes that have my absence

Como dulce y fresco sereno del mar
Are like the sweet and fresh serenity of the sea

Tus ojos son mi equilibrio
Your eyes are my balance