Gloria Estefan got the biggest ovation of the night when she accepted the Legend Award at the 2024 Billboard Latin Women in Music Gala at the hands of her husband, visionary music producer Emilio Estefan, who surprised her as the presenter of the recognition and made a moving introductory speech.
“It's the first time in our career that I've given an award to Gloria, but when they told me to do it, I had to because I'm honestly so proud of you,” he said with obvious admiration for the singer-songwriter, who started out while she was still a teenager as a member of the band Miami Sound Machine. “We had a sound that was different and it was so hard because no one believed in us,” recalls Emilio, noting that together they reached “the most important corners of the world” as young Cuban immigrants.
“Receiving this award is more than anything to inform a new generation that even though we come from other countries, we must preserve our culture, we must preserve our nationality and be proud of our origin. This is what made the Miami Sound Machine famous. But tonight, more than anything else, is to celebrate our union of more than 45 years,” he added to cheers from the audience, who called for “kiss, kiss” and were even more excited when the pair connected their lips in a kiss. dot.
Amid shouts of 'Glory', the superstar accepted the honor with joy and gratitude and told how, aged 17, she went to a friend's wedding where an orchestra was playing which was played by a young man who was 'unbelievably gifted'. It turns out that he — Emilio — had already heard her sing at a mutual friend's house and invited her to perform a few songs with them.
“I sang 'Sabor a Mi' and 'Tú Me Acostumbraste' and of course everyone at the wedding had heard me sing since I was a little girl and gave me a standing ovation, which obviously impressed him,” she said, making the audience laugh. “And that night he said to me, 'You know, I'd love for you to join the team because there's no team that has a woman at the front.' How things have changed!” Gloria exclaimed.
“To all the queens sharing this night with me, I adore each and every one of you. I am very proud every time I see a woman succeed, it fills my heart with joy and happiness. Thanks, Advertising sign, because I've always been there in my career. Thank you Leila [Cobo] for creating this spectacular way to celebrate the women we should be celebrating ourselves whenever we can,” she concluded.
Since rising to stardom in the '80s as the lead singer of the Miami Sound Machine alongside Emilio, Gloria Estefan has helped inject Latin flavor into English-language pop music, breaking barriers with hits like “Conga” and ” Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”. and singing along in Spanish.
In the Advertising sign has placed 29 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, three of them at No. 1 (“Anything for You” in 1988, “Don't Wanna Lose You” in 1989 and “Coming Out of the Dark” in 1991) and 30 songs on the Hot Latin Songs, 15 of which reached the top (from “No Me Vuelvo a Enamorar” in 1986 to “Hotel Nacional” in 2012). Her first Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra (1993), spent an impressive 58 weeks at the top of the Top Latin Albums and earned her the first of three Grammy Awards.
Juliana Velásquez, Elena Rose and Gale during their tribute to Gloria Estefan at the Billboard Latin Women in Music Gala at the Telemundo Center in Miami on June 8, 2024.
John Parra/TELEMUNDO
Before receiving the Legend Award, Estefan was honored by three up-and-coming Latin American singer-songwriters – Venezuela's Elena Rose, Puerto Rico's GALE and Colombia's Juliana Velásquez – who performed for her a beautiful version of “Mi Tierra” accompanied by an orchestra that consists exclusively of women. . From their seats, Gloria and Emilio did not stop smiling excitedly and at the end they were rewarded with a standing ovation.
In its second annual edition, Billboard Latin Women In Music also honored Karol G as Woman of the Year, Gloria Estefan as Legend, La India as Pioneer, Ana Bárbara with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Ángela Aguilar with the Musical Award Dynasty, Camila Cabello for Global Impact and Kali Uchis as Rising Star.
The ceremony is broadcast Telemundo and live streaming via the Telemundo app and Peacock.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/gloria-estefan-billboard-latin-women-in-music-emilio-1235705347/
