Gloria and Emily Estefan are part of one of the most influential families in music. The two belong and represent different eras, but still find a lot of common ground and respect for each other, as evidenced by their new interview in Vogue Mexico.
Gloria Estefan kicked off the interview by discussing her beginnings in music, something that altered the sound of Miami and can be experienced to this day, opening the door for all Latinos in the industry. “We were always aware of what we were doing,” said Gloria. “When we made what would be our first set of hits, executives wanted us not to use elements from Cuban music, and that’s what we did. The first thing I sang in public was ‘Sabor a mi’ and ‘Tu me acostumbraste,’ so from that moment on our message was clear. That made us different,” she said.
The landscape of music is completely different nowadays, thanks, in part, to the influence of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Musicians of all sorts are trying to mix in sounds and appeal to a globalized audience. Still, thanks to her parents‘ influence, Emily views things a little bit differently than people that belong to her generation.
“I am 27 years old and I lived in a world where there were no cellphones allowed. I grew up surrounded by musicians on the stage. The metal section of my mom’s band was made up of five musicians, something that is currently unheard of. There’s no physical presence, no band, no record. It’s all digital. You go to a concert and you see a DJ and no musicians,” she said.
Emily also discussed growing up in a family of musicians and how she only surrendered to her love for music after many years of trying out different things. “I wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be the first woman chef at a Benihana restaurant. I played basketball. Everything pointed me towards music. Still, I didn’t want to sing, so I started with percussions, playing the drums. I fell in love with music and I knew it was my destiny. I didn’t start singing until I was 18 years old. It took me a while to convince myself that I was going to end up making art and music.”
Nowadays, Emily is nothing but proud of her family and their legacy, no longer thinking that she has to fill anyone’s roles in order to be successful. She’s doing things her own way.
