By all means, Gloria Estefan has earned the right to rest. It was 50 years ago this summer that the Cuban American entertainer began her professional music career, transforming the Miami Latin Boys into Miami Sound Machine before the group eventually started billing itself on her name’s star power alone. It’s been a conga line of hit records, tours, awards, and a mini-empire of South Florida businesses for the singer since, topped by the career-spanning jukebox musical On Your Feet! (and maybe the biggest success indicator ever: a guest spot on Glee).
But at 68, Estefan isn’t slowing down, even if 2025 has been busier than she’d have preferred. Earlier this year, she released her 30th album, Raíces, shot a live-action film adaptation of the kids’ show Gabby’s Dollhouse, and headlined Madrid’s Hispanic Day Concert. Now, she’s hard at work on Basura, a new musical opening in Atlanta next May for which she and her daughter, Emily, have composed an original score. Long nestled in Miami, where she lives with husband and fellow mogul, Emilio, here’s how Estefan gets it all done.
On having an unusually busy year:
We like to space things out, especially me. I like to go to Vero Beach and chill, and I haven’t been able to. I wrote most of Basura there. It’s been mostly written for about a year, but we keep tweaking stuff. I just wrote a new song because we keep trying to find the perfect opening number. It’s such a fun process and very enriching, now that it’s done. It’s like what I say about exercise: I love it when it’s over.
On exercising:
On a chill day, in Vero, I get up and exercise to get it out of the way. I like the elliptical and I like walking in nature, but on a flat surface; not the beach, which is sideways. I’ll go out into the nature trails and walk for a long time or ride a bike. Not in Miami. I’m not gonna ride a bike in Miami; it’s too crazy. And then some kind of training, with rubber bands or core-strengthening, is important for my back. But my schedule has been so nuts that I’ve had to pick: Either sleep or work out, and that’s easy to choose.
On fittings:
I only know what I have coming up because I have to try on clothes for it. The thing I hate to do most are fittings. It’s a big waste of my time: You gotta pick the right purse, the right shoes, the right jewelry. I like to do it ahead of time so it’s out of my brain and everything is ready to go. You might change your mind, or something extra comes up, but you’re prepped. I have a stylist, and an assistant who knows my taste better than I do, but I still have to take the time to try on the dress.
On winding down:
I love those stupid games like Candy Crush and Royal Match, those mindless things that I beat when I’m not concentrating on them. I’m a TV head and I’m a binger, big time. Emilio will fall asleep immediately, and I will put on my headphones so I don’t make him crazy. Sometimes, now, he puts on a mask. If it’s really bad, I’ll watch my iPad with my headphones on so I don’t bug him, and I’ll drape my blanket over it. I’m watching all the Dexters at once, because I’d already seen them but he hadn’t, so I’m rewatching. We just finished Wednesday.
On choosing a new project:
I have to feel a passion for it and want to do it. I worked really hard: 15 years, I was touring constantly, sometimes writing while on tour, going into the studio to record, then promoting … and then you’re back on tour. That was my schedule, plus raising a family. And it’s different for women onstage. Women, in general, have a shorter shelf life than the Rolling Stones, unless you’re Celia Cruz or Tina Turner. I love artists that are just up there; they play their music, and it’s ageless. But it’s a big sacrifice to keep that level of touring. I knew that one day I would venture out into other things, which I have. I would always tell Emilio, “I’m gonna work really hard, so one day I won’t have to.”
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On feeling like she’s made it:
In any kind of art, there really is no You’ve made it, and that’s it. It’s a constant evolution of your art and sharing it and the way it hits the public. I know that when “Dr. Beat” made it big, the money started rolling in. Now that’s not the way, because of streaming and whatnot, but when you saw the big worldwide sales numbers coming in, that told you that a lot of people like what you’re doing. But Emilio and I only get in the studio when we’re excited about something: a new project, a new sound, new songs. We’ve been lucky to be able to steer our own career by having a record company. Him and I, together, are a strong force.
On ambition:
It’s great to be successful, but I am a very contented person. I remember during COVID, when things got really hairy for everybody, I told Emilio that I wouldn’t care if we lost everything and had to be in an apartment again, as long as we’re healthy and together. I love my house. I’m sitting right here enjoying it with the dogs, and I’m very thankful. But our main ambition has been to continue to communicate through music. I’m an entertainer. My job is to lighten the mood and give people something positive to hang onto.
On her love of theater:
On Your Feet! really threw us into that world, and I have nothing but respect for those actors. That is the hardest job in show business, hands down: eight shows a week, you don’t have a life. It’s an honor and everything, but it’s not like it pays great. Someone like George Clooney or Denzel, they’re going to make a lot of money because they bring in a lot of money, and I’m sure their deals were different. But normally, for people in musicals, it’s tough. They work hard. Even before On Your Feet!, I had a very deep love and respect for Broadway. The first show I saw was here at the Coconut Grove Playhouse: Equus. It was quite interesting at 17. I did not share with my mother that I saw Equus; I just went.
On staying in Miami:
Lately, I’ve thought about leaving. But, no, this is my home. To rip me out of this place would be like what they did to my mom in Cuba. I love Miami. I’m a tropical girl, I love this weather. I love the fact that you can speak another language, although we’ve got to be a little more careful about that now, don’t we? I have my passport with me just in case. Wouldn’t that be something? Arrested! Oh my God.
On the best advice she has received:
I don’t like being the center of attention. Having everybody look at me is not something that I relish. I had to get used to that, but I also like to do things well. If I’m going to entertain people, I want it to be the best that I can be. So we were doing this show when we were just starting out. We were still the Miami Latin Boys, and they were giving some award at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. I’m standing backstage and this young man, a balladeer kind of guy who’d been on the local radio, just connected with the audience. Everybody went crazy. When he came offstage, I said, “My God, how do you do that?” He goes, “You know what I do? I look them in the eyes, because who knows if that’s going to be the last time they ever see you?” And he died a week later in a freaking car accident. So that message came through loud and clear.
