If you’re struggling to find something to smile about right now, then look no further. We have found the perfect antidote to any Covid-induced depression.
It comes in the form of 80s Latina pop sensation Gloria Estefan, the diminutive Cuban singer with a huge voice and a head of tumbling dark curls.
While we were lucky enough to have her call us from her Florida home in Vero beach and hear how she continues to live la vida bella at 62, there is a more accessible option.
Stick on some of her 80s hits and it won’t be just the rhythm that’s gonna get you – the nostalgia is immense. It has all the care-free, castaway feels you’ve been craving since cancelling your flights to Spain.
‘We need some joy in our lives,’ she tells us. ‘My music can be escapism for people. It has been for me my whole life.’
Gloria has a slightly husky voice and a big, inviting laugh that makes you immediately feel like you’re part of her party. And after a global pandemic, quite frankly, we could do with some fun.
‘It’s been scary, hasn’t it? Florida feels like the epicentre, we’ve been hit hard,’ she says. ‘I was in lockdown at our place in Miami from March to May.
'But I hadn’t seen my kids and grandkid, so I decided to go up to Vero Beach and be with them. I took my five dogs, I’ve had the ocean behind me and I can bike ride and exercise so that’s good. We’ll get through it.’
Gloria is like a force of positivity. And it’s no surprise when you consider her success. She’s had 38 No.1 hits, won seven Grammy awards, has launched a stage musical about her life and toured the world 10 times over, selling more than 100 million records.
But she also has an impressive 42-year old marriage (unheard of in showbiz), two grown-up kids, survived a bus crash that threatened her ability to walk again, has been awarded medals for philanthropic work, and has even penned kids’ storybooks. She leads a full life.
‘I’m a big believer in having balance in your life,’ she says. ‘And staying true to who you are. Throughout my career, I’ve done my own thing. Some artists create an image of themselves for their fans but they don’t know how to step away from it.
'That is incredibly tiresome and takes a lot of energy. At the peak of my career in the 80s, my look was natural. I had curly hair, very little make-up, jeans and a white shirt.
'It was very low key. Then the stylists in Hollywood wanted to blow-dry my hair, but no, I wanted to hang upside down and diffuse my curls. I could carry it with confidence because it was me.’
Gloria was born in Cuba, and raised in Florida, USA, by her parents and her grandmother, who she was also very close to, and someone she describes as ‘the consummate stage mother’.
‘My mum was a very traditional Cuban mum,’ Gloria explains. ‘I was never really let out of her sight. I didn’t do sleepovers as a kid and I wasn’t allowed to be a girl scout.
Instead, I’d play my guitar and learn songs in my bedroom. But as a young girl, I was very comfortable in my own skin. I was strong. I was a questions girl. I was curious. It probably armed me to take on the career I did.’
And her career is still going. She has just released a new album Brazil305 . It’s her first release in seven years. ‘Well I actually had the album ready in 2017, but then my mum fell ill and 33 days later she passed away,’ she reveals.
‘I couldn’t sing. The pain was brutal. I didn’t feel ready again for over a year. But when I went back to work, I felt that she was with me.’
As we chat, Gloria’s conversation is peppered with stories and quotes from her family. They are all extremely close knit – with those past and present.
The superstar and her musician husband, Emilio, of the original Miami Sound Machine, are currently in their fourth decade together, and have two grown-up children, Nayib and Emily.
She talks about how, as a mother and an international artist, she has combined family and fame. ‘The bottom line is we never believed our own hype,’ she tells us. ‘You can be this icon who people idolise, but we’re all human beings.
'Fame doesn’t make you intrinsically better, or more important. We never bought into it. We did our work and then lived our family life at home.’
While we chat about her never-ending career, we inevitably make comparisons to her pop peers from the 80s, although sadly, some of them are no longer with us – Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and George Michael.
‘Fame is a tricky thing,’ she says. ‘I feel very sad for them. I’m sure they would have had a lot more to give. I mean Whitney died right on the heels of the success of her comeback movie, Sparkle.
'That was going to be phenomenal. Michael, poor thing, he was doomed. I never thought he was going to make it to 50. God knows he had his problems, but as an artist, no one will top him. Never. But that level of fame is terrible. I remember George, I loved Wham!.
‘I guess I was lucky as I was never alone,’ she admits. ‘I had Emilio by my side the whole time. My family was always my number one and it kept my feet firmly on the ground.’
And the secret to the lasting marriage is? ‘He makes me laugh every day,’ she says. ‘I also say, girls, keep shaving your legs and guys, keep treating her like your girlfriend. You’ve got to remember you’re a couple first to keep the flames burning.
‘But seriously, we’re very different personality wise. I am very chilled and he is electric. When he walks into a room, everyone notices. He gets up every morning at the crack of dawn, raring to go.
'I take my time and need my coffee. Look, if we were both like me, we would have spent our lives playing guitar on the couch until we died of heart attacks!’
We don’t believe it. At 62, Gloria is holding back the years. ‘I don’t feel like I’ve aged. Yes of course some things are different – for a woman in particular.
'Things change once you’re on the other side of the hormones. You realise that they took over your brain. You’d be surprised how many decisions in your life have been made by your hormones.
‘I’m more aware of the fact the time I have left is getting shorter,’ she concedes. ‘Emilio and I have lived so fast. He says to me, “Look at me, I look like Santa!” but in my mind he’s still 22.’
One of the benefits of ageing though, she says, is she’s learned to go easy on herself. ‘Yes I work out, but I’m not that hardcore about it,’ she says.
‘I spent three decades working out daily to keep my body fit and strong – especially after my tour bus accident in 1991 when I had metal rods put in my back. I was at the peak of a woman’s sensuality, I wanted to look good but I also wanted to be really healthy.
‘I’ll enjoy a glass of wine if I want. Although I’m noticing that alcohol is fun in the moment, but not during the night or in the morning! I’ve not had hangovers because I don’t go to that extreme, but you still feel it.
'I make killer Cosmos, which I can enjoy with friends, but I don’t sleep the same. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s worth it… of course it is!’
Cosmos by the beach with Gloria? We’re booking our flight now. We just hope it doesn’t get cancelled
How Gloria Estefan spends her Sundays
Lie-in or up with the lark?
In Miami, when I had no time forever, I’d always lie in and take time getting up. But during lockdown I’ve been getting up and out. I like to get out to the beach with my five dogs – Lulu, Matilda, Hamilton, Daisy & Bowser.
Lulu likes to get out on the sand when it’s still cool on her feet and we take our walks. Sometimes I go out on a boat into the water. It’s so peaceful. It’s one of my happy places.
Describe a typical Sunday
We get up and our nail person comes to the house and does manicures and pedicures on Emilio and myself. Cuban men are very metrosexual. Emilio is fiendishly clean – every inch of his body down to his nails.
We would usually have a family dinner somewhere. I get everyone together – I’m very close to my eight-year-old grandson Sasha. If the kids couldn’t come round for whatever reason, then Emilio and I catch a movie together, or do something really chilled.
Sunday roast in the pub or at home?
We love to go out to a Lebanese restaurant because my kids are a quarter Lebanese and we all love that food.
Sunday papers or Sunday telly?
We watch the early morning news show while we have our nails done so we can keep up with what’s happening. Social media is the last thing I do on a Sunday. We do lots of FaceTime though.