Speaker 1: Big things were coming around the corner for Gloria.
Speaker 2: She had met her soon to be.
Speaker 1: Husband, Joseph Spoilers, Girl, stop training. We're basically at the
Speaker 1: training scene in Rocky you guys.
Speaker 2: She was putting in the time working out training her voice.
Speaker 1: This was serious and they were working hard as a band,
Speaker 1: playing low key events and parties, but soon they'd be
Speaker 1: gaining recognition on a much larger scale. So on today's episode,
Speaker 1: join us as we go through the motions of the
Speaker 1: Estephans romance.
Speaker 2: And learn how Glodia managed to balance school, the band,
Speaker 2: marriage and motherhood. Jesus Chris, I could barely get up
Speaker 2: for this.
Speaker 1: I'm your host Liliana Oscuez.
Speaker 2: And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an icon a.
Speaker 1: Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how
Speaker 1: today's most famous latinv stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 2: And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1: Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 2: Because we are going in the only way we know how,
Speaker 2: with buenas vividas, buenas.
Speaker 1: Riesas and a lot of opinions, as we relive their
Speaker 1: greatest achievements on our journey to find out what makes
Speaker 1: them so iconic.
Speaker 2: The Miami found Machine finally had a lead singer.
Speaker 1: At the time, Glodia was a college student and her
Speaker 1: family prioritized her education above all else, especially her mom.
Speaker 1: She was only allowed to join the band if her
Speaker 1: cousin joined with her, and the band was not to
Speaker 1: interfere with her studies.
Speaker 2: Which meant Gloria would only perform on weekends.
Speaker 1: By the way, I didn't know this until I researched
Speaker 1: that episode, but Glodia majored in psychology with a minor
Speaker 1: in French. She was also working at the time as
Speaker 1: an English, span and French translator at Miami International Airport's
Speaker 1: customs department.
Speaker 2: Okay, holy SiZ Aka, homegirl was biz?
Speaker 1: Did you also know that she almost worked for the CIA?
Speaker 2: Shut your butt?
Speaker 1: What uh huh? Because she was fluent in three languages
Speaker 1: and working as a translator at the time, they were
Speaker 1: eyeing her for recruitment. But obviously hello. Thankfully for us
Speaker 1: and the rest of the world, things did turn out
Speaker 1: a little differently.
Speaker 2: What she for sure didn't expect was the Miami saun
Speaker 2: Machine turning into a full blown career.
Speaker 1: As they started working together, Emilio Stefan nurtured Gloria's talent
Speaker 1: and really helped her come out of her shell. He
Speaker 1: helped her see her full potential.
Speaker 2: Like Dirty Dancing the movie, the whole rehearsal montage, did
Speaker 2: he lift her up in the lake?
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure and he was definitely wearing those
Speaker 1: short shorts stop. But it was in those sessions with
Speaker 1: the media that she was able to really expand her
Speaker 1: vocal range.
Speaker 2: Out was the shy girl and in was the superstar.
Speaker 1: She was gaining confidence not just as a performer, but
Speaker 1: also in her life because soon enough, her relationship with
Speaker 1: Emilio would blossom into something more.
Speaker 2: July fourth, nineteen seventy six, Clodia.
Speaker 1: And Emilia would usually go out to get some air,
Speaker 1: take a little break during their gigs, you know, just
Speaker 1: a moment to breathe and center themselves.
Speaker 2: On this day, they were doing a little Independence Day
Speaker 2: gig all Stars in Bangals Ship.
Speaker 1: And Gloria claims that Emilia suggested they go get some
Speaker 1: air like they normally do.
Speaker 2: So they go outside and Emilio tells her it's his birthday,
Speaker 2: which is clearly a lie. That man is a March
Speaker 2: fourth pisces.
Speaker 1: Hang he was four months early or I guess eight
Speaker 1: months late. It just depends how you look at it.
Speaker 1: But anyway, point is Emilio asks her for a quote
Speaker 1: unquote birthday kiss.
Speaker 2: He thought he was so slick, honey.
Speaker 1: She always the lady suggested she get him a birthday
Speaker 1: present instead, and he compromised. He said, well, what about
Speaker 1: a kiss on the cheek. But the kiss on the
Speaker 1: cheek turned into a real one.
Speaker 2: He moved his face.
Speaker 1: I hate when guys do that, And yes he did.
Speaker 2: Did I do that all the time.
Speaker 1: I'm not surprised. And at the end it all worked
Speaker 1: out because Glodia said what followed were pure fireworks, literally
Speaker 1: and figuratively, as the Fourth of July celebration was in
Speaker 1: full force.
Speaker 2: And these fellow band members officially became an item.
Speaker 1: The Miami Sound Machine, much like Manugal, had its fair
Speaker 1: share of different members throughout the years.
Speaker 2: The OG group consisted of six Cuban born members.
Speaker 1: Yes, you had Emilio Stephan Junior on percussion and accordion.
Speaker 1: Joseph's favorite instrument, Gloria Fajarlo would leave vocals and hand percussion.
Speaker 1: Mercy Navadro, Gloria's cousin, on lead vocals two with her
Speaker 1: husband Raoul Muciano on the keys, and then I can't
Speaker 1: forget about Kiki Enrica Garcia on drums and one marcos
Speaker 1: Avella on bass.
Speaker 2: Soon enough, the band would become a full time job,
Speaker 2: as they were in high demand. Yeah.
Speaker 1: A year and a half later, after Gloria joined the group,
Speaker 1: the band recorded its first album for a local.
Speaker 2: Label, Rena Said or Live Again, was released in nineteen
Speaker 2: seventy seven.
Speaker 1: It was a collection of disco pop and a lot
Speaker 1: of original ballads, all sung in Spanish.
Speaker 2: With Lorita in the mix. More ballads were thrown into
Speaker 2: the band's estillo.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you go back and listen to this song,
Speaker 1: which by the way, I had to look up on YouTube,
Speaker 1: not going to front, it's okay, it's giving okay.
Speaker 2: I will say it was a very unique sound that
Speaker 2: I have only heard in that one song, Like I've
Speaker 2: never heard anything like it again, Like it was, It's unique.
Speaker 2: It's a very unique sound.
Speaker 1: It felt like, you know, elevator music. Yeah, it felt
Speaker 1: like eighties elevator music with a hint of rock in Espanol.
Speaker 1: Just go listen. We're not doing it. We're not helping
Speaker 1: anybody with this description. Y'all should go listen to.
Speaker 2: It eighties elevator sleepy synthesized whatever that means. In between
Speaker 2: band practice, gigs, and school, Gloria made time to get hitched.
Speaker 1: Gloordia had a lot on her plate. She was working
Speaker 1: hard to become a provider for her family, and Emilio
Speaker 1: noticed this. During an interview with The Washington Post, he
Speaker 1: said this, when I met her, there was a lot
Speaker 1: of sad in her face. I made sure she became
Speaker 1: a happy person.
Speaker 2: Oh, I love that. By September second, nineteen seventy eight,
Speaker 2: they had an album out in the world.
Speaker 1: And after just two years of dating, Gloria's first and
Speaker 1: only boyfriend became her husband.
Speaker 2: Wow. There's From this moment on, these two could be
Speaker 2: known as the Estefans.
Speaker 1: At the time, Gloria's father was still in the hospital,
Speaker 1: so Gloria walked herself down the aisle.
Speaker 2: Once the ideas were said, she went straight to the
Speaker 2: hospital to see her dad. He was able to see
Speaker 2: how gorgeous she looked in her wedding fit, which was
Speaker 2: given Princess leiah Illness.
Speaker 1: Again, let's describe it for the people. It was a
Speaker 1: hooded white wedding gown and it like draped and her
Speaker 1: hair was very short in the photo, I mean it
Speaker 1: looked like almost yeah, Princess Leah realness.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna say it was like a gown.
Speaker 1: Please google via Stefan's wedding photo.
Speaker 2: Trust yes, let us know what you think, and I.
Speaker 1: Will say the gown was incredibly fitting. Because you guys,
Speaker 1: they didn't have a big Latin typical wedding, right like
Speaker 1: we invite our cousins, cousins, the vesinos, the tillas, like
Speaker 1: the people that cut your we invite everybody. This was
Speaker 1: not that. Because of her father's condition, of course, they
Speaker 1: decided on a smaller ceremony. It was nothing major, but
Speaker 1: their friends did surprise them with a big party to
Speaker 1: celebrate their big day. Then there was a short honeymoon,
Speaker 1: back to work and back to Cuba.
Speaker 2: The Estephans would spend some time on the island together.
Speaker 2: They were there to help Amelio's brother Jose and his
Speaker 2: family leave Cuba for the United States.
Speaker 1: Emilio's niece Lilia Stephan remembers that day well, sharing they
Speaker 1: drove for something like eighteen hours from Havana to Santiago
Speaker 1: to Cuba.
Speaker 2: They were in Cuba to help Emilio's brother Jose and
Speaker 2: his family leave for the United States, and they all
Speaker 2: left together in nineteen eighty. By that year, the Miami
Speaker 2: sound machine had become something of a cultural phenomenon.
Speaker 1: Gloria said it was a humbling experience. They were packing
Speaker 1: soccer stadiums in Latin America with over fifty thousand people,
Speaker 1: but they'd go back to Miami to play weddings for
Speaker 1: two hundred tests.
Speaker 2: If there is one thing that'll humble you, honey, it's
Speaker 2: the American entertainment industry. They're not easily impressed with anything,
Speaker 2: even if it's gold right under their noses. But now
Speaker 2: it's the eighties and in Miami, opportunity was in the air. Baby.
Speaker 1: Yes, there were people that wanted to ruin the city's
Speaker 1: image by focusing solely on the high crime rate that
Speaker 1: was servicing, talking about drug cartels and blaming Latino immigrants.
Speaker 2: But popular staples like Miami Vice had trained the city's
Speaker 2: image around to trademarking it a popular destination.
Speaker 1: Plus, the NFL was drawing attention with Miami Dolphins quarterback
Speaker 1: Dan Marino breaking records left and right. There was an
Speaker 1: infectious sound in the air, adding to all the hype.
Speaker 1: Miami Sound Machine's popularity was growing around the world, and yes,
Speaker 1: the US finally got the memo.
Speaker 2: They didn't stop recording.
Speaker 1: The band was signed to these ghost CBS International. On
Speaker 1: top of that, they even had their own label named
Speaker 1: MSM Label.
Speaker 2: Not only was the band getting busy, but so were
Speaker 2: they of Stefan's Amelia left his job as a sales
Speaker 2: manager at McCarty, deciding to devote all of his time
Speaker 2: to the Miami Sad Machine. He took up more of
Speaker 2: a managerial position, devoting his time and energy to promoting
Speaker 2: the band.
Speaker 1: Emilia would also devote his time to his wife as
Speaker 1: a dedicated husband and a soon to v father.
Speaker 2: Their son, Naives Stefan, was born on September two, nineteen eighty,
Speaker 2: two years after their wedding.
Speaker 1: Sadly, two months later, Gloria's father passed away. Emilio was
Speaker 1: the one to break the news. She went straight to
Speaker 1: the hospital after this, and with her mom, she was
Speaker 1: able to see her dad and say their last goodbyes.
Speaker 1: Despite the heavy loss, Gloria was able to jump back
Speaker 1: and continue working with the band towards the inevitable success
Speaker 1: that awaited them.
Speaker 2: So far, they had Rena said, and the self titled
Speaker 2: Miami Sound Machine albums.
Speaker 1: They were a sensation. They were on top of the world,
Speaker 1: making and selling records, plus inspiring a new generation of
Speaker 1: soon to be latinx icons.
Speaker 2: They definitely had what it takes to dominate the US airwaves.
Speaker 1: Emidio even convinced Sony to let them release doctor Beat
Speaker 1: as a music video, and it was off to the
Speaker 1: racist from there. They believed in themselves enough to see
Speaker 1: this through. Emilial produced and financed the video himself.
Speaker 2: At first, you would have thought all their hopes and
Speaker 2: dreams and cash went down the drain because of this song.
Speaker 2: It didn't really perform well in the US, but.
Speaker 1: Hold on because it did become a huge success worldwide,
Speaker 1: especially in Europe.
Speaker 2: It cracked the top ten in the UK and boosted
Speaker 2: their popularity worldwide. Doctor B don't you start? Doctor Beat?
Speaker 1: Joseph, what was your first impression of the video?
Speaker 2: I know, at first, I was just kind of like
Speaker 2: when you're watching it. At first, I was like, Whoa's
Speaker 2: gloriac gonna jump? So I know, you guys don't know
Speaker 2: what I'm talking about. You have to like watch the
Speaker 2: video to know. But it was weird it was like
Speaker 2: a movie.
Speaker 1: It gave me kind of like thriller vibes. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of storytelling. Okay, so here's what happened. So this
Speaker 1: video is actually shot on the roof of the Bookcardi
Speaker 1: Imports building, which is funny enough, where Enrika Garcia and
Speaker 1: Emilio both worked for a short period of time and
Speaker 1: is stefan. Gloria is calling for doctor Bat right, which
Speaker 1: is played by her drummer Enrica Garcia.
Speaker 2: Who also wrote the song right, yes.
Speaker 1: And she's calling for doctor bat to help hear her
Speaker 1: from her desire to dance continuously. This is truly the
Speaker 1: storyline for the video.
Speaker 2: Okay, she's just gyrating the whole time, like she's dancing
Speaker 2: the whole time. She's even when they're trying to strap
Speaker 2: her down in like a bed like.
Speaker 1: Yes, okay, so she like dances all the way to
Speaker 1: the hospital. Then she's laying on the hospital bed and
Speaker 1: you guys, this is the best part of the entire video.
Speaker 1: They open Gloria up and reveal that a juke box
Speaker 1: was living inside her, attached to like.
Speaker 2: The a chord, a chord like an umbilical chord.
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, And guess who cuts the cords, tell me
Speaker 1: Doctor b it was a lot. I will say that
Speaker 1: I'm looking for a Halloween costume, and I feel like
Speaker 1: if I dressed up like Gloria in this outfit.
Speaker 2: I wonder if people would know who you were. But
Speaker 2: I do want to say this, you know, as much
Speaker 2: as we're like, oh, you know, it wasn't such a
Speaker 2: great song. It did hit number seventeen on the Hot
Speaker 2: Dance Club Play charts.
Speaker 1: The thing about the video is that it's totally out there.
Speaker 1: It's wacky, but it's very eighties. This is what videos
Speaker 1: were in the eighties. They were wacky, they were fun.
Speaker 1: They were camp right, pure camp is the best way
Speaker 1: to describe it.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, you know what that word is, exactly
Speaker 2: what that fucking video is.
Speaker 1: If you want some fun, go back and watch the video,
Speaker 1: because if you've ever wondered, like when the met Gala
Speaker 1: happened and people like, what does camp mean? Does it
Speaker 1: mean camping? No, this is pure camp. It's over the top,
Speaker 1: it makes no sense, and it is glorious in how
Speaker 1: crazy it is.
Speaker 2: But Doctor Beat kept them busy touring and.
Speaker 1: Performing, which kept Gloria away from her son. Soon the
Speaker 1: stepbands would have to make a very tough decision their
Speaker 1: careers or their home life. Glodia was getting more and
Speaker 1: more attention. Doctor Beat was charting and they were touring
Speaker 1: as a band.
Speaker 2: A Miami Sound Machine show was a hot ticket.
Speaker 1: This also meant that Glordia's availability was very limited.
Speaker 2: So we've talked about this before, and you feel very
Speaker 2: strongly about this topic Loves, which is Latina Mommy's setting
Speaker 2: aside their career to be a mother. In this case,
Speaker 2: the table's returned because with everything going on in Glodia's life,
Speaker 2: Emilio was the one to step.
Speaker 1: Down, which, by the way, is so incredibly progressive, not
Speaker 1: just for the time, but culturally progressive, right. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is revolutionary because this is in the eighties, right.
Speaker 1: So here's what happened. Emilio acknowledged that he wasn't a singer.
Speaker 1: He was keeping the band together behind the scenes, and
Speaker 1: he could do that from anywhere. Think of it as
Speaker 1: like remote work back in the eighties, right now, you
Speaker 1: could do your jobs from anywhere. We didn't have that
Speaker 1: luxury ten years ago. But he was like, listen, I
Speaker 1: can manage the band from home. And he saw that
Speaker 1: Gloria had this beautiful, blossoming career and it was nowhere
Speaker 1: close to its peak yet. So for her to give
Speaker 1: all of that up it would have been a tragedy,
Speaker 1: not just for the band but for the world at
Speaker 1: the time. So he gave her the opportunity to continue
Speaker 1: with the band, dedicate her time to being the lead
Speaker 1: singer and a future icon.
Speaker 2: So Emilio had to step up exactly, or Emilio decided
Speaker 2: to step up.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that change in verb is really important,
Speaker 1: like had to Versus decided to Like he saw this,
Speaker 1: he was like, listen, my wife has an incredible career
Speaker 1: ahead of her. It's what's good for her is good
Speaker 1: for us as a family. And I think that shift
Speaker 1: in perspective is something that still doesn't happen a lot
Speaker 1: with a lot of working moms. Like I have friends
Speaker 1: that are the primary breadwinners and their family right their moms.
Speaker 1: But they're also working moms, and they also make more
Speaker 1: than their husbands. Yet there's still the ones at every
Speaker 1: doctor's appointment, They're still the ones at the school calls,
Speaker 1: And I'm like, wait a second, why, Like why is
Speaker 1: there not a more equal distribution of household and childcare responsibilities.
Speaker 1: It's really hard. And the fact that he was able
Speaker 1: to do this and saw this in the eighties, like I.
Speaker 2: Was gonna say, in the eighties, machiesmo, Like it's the
Speaker 2: peak of Like it's the fucking eighties, Like that is
Speaker 2: the peak of ego.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's what it's honestly. It's like I feel like,
Speaker 1: especially in Latino culture, men at the time and men
Speaker 1: still now because I see it prevalent in my cousin's marriages,
Speaker 1: they still don't get it, like what's good for her
Speaker 1: is good for us. It's always like what's good for
Speaker 1: me is good for the family. But then when you
Speaker 1: flip the tables and it's the wife who has more
Speaker 1: responsibilities outside of the home. I think that's a hard
Speaker 1: pill for a lot of Latino men to swallow, simply
Speaker 1: because machismo is what traditionally has dominated the way we
Speaker 1: set up our homes and our households.
Speaker 2: This really fucking makes them even more iconic because they
Speaker 2: didn't follow anything socially normal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think it goes back to we talked
Speaker 1: about what makes somebody an icon, and we talk about
Speaker 1: how with Bad Bunny, he's breaking down all these gender norms, right,
Speaker 1: all of these boundaries, especially for Latinos, around what a
Speaker 1: man looks like, how he dresses, does he do his nails,
Speaker 1: does he wear makeup? And he's dismantling all of those
Speaker 1: norms around gender. For us, well, hello, here were Emilio
Speaker 1: and Gloria doing that back in the eighties and we.
Speaker 2: Didn't even know it. Icon the I cons.
Speaker 1: It's incredible that Emilia was able to make that decision
Speaker 1: for his family. Because the Miami Sound Machine followed up
Speaker 1: Doctor Beat with their album Primitive Love.
Speaker 2: It was the band's ninth studio album and their second
Speaker 2: English language record. If you're doing the math, it means
Speaker 2: it took nine albums for the world to get Gona.
Speaker 1: That fact right there. Joseph really burst the bubble of
Speaker 1: overnight success. As we've mentioned countless times on this podcast. Yes,
Speaker 1: they were always great, but they were getting better. The
Speaker 1: world was ready for them. But this is when the
Speaker 1: American audience seemed to fully wake up.
Speaker 2: It was mainstream exactly.
Speaker 1: It's nineteen eighty five and they finally have an album
Speaker 1: that broke into the American charts. It ended up having
Speaker 1: three top ten hits on the Billboard Hot One hundred words,
Speaker 1: get in the way, bad boy, and of course gong Ga.
Speaker 1: I know that you're not like an expert in Miami
Speaker 1: sound machine discography, but when you hear the name Gloria Estefan,
Speaker 1: what is the song that comes to mind?
Speaker 2: Gong Got Bitch, gong Go, Like it's just that, Like
Speaker 2: I know she has so many other songs, but like
Speaker 2: Gonga and her kind of dancing. I don't even know
Speaker 2: where I get that image from, but like Gonga and
Speaker 2: her dancing to it.
Speaker 1: It's such an amazing song. And I think you said
Speaker 1: it earlier. You said, if you're having a bad day,
Speaker 1: put on this song, you know, because.
Speaker 2: The beat to it, it's that it makes you stand
Speaker 2: up and just move your body, like it makes you
Speaker 2: want to do something. And I don't know why.
Speaker 1: For me, it's like, okay, makes me want to get
Speaker 1: up and dance, but it might just make you want
Speaker 1: to get up, like just stand up.
Speaker 2: Like get up, yeah, just move your feet. It's so true.
Speaker 1: It's it's such a great song. I mean, the video
Speaker 1: is iconic, the lyrics are iconic, and I love how
Speaker 1: fast she can sing. You and I have tried to
Speaker 1: do this before.
Speaker 2: You're ready here we go.
Speaker 1: No, wait, we're gonna okay, here you do it? Okay, ready, okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna sent her. Are you ready?
Speaker 2: Come on?
Speaker 1: Check your body, baby, do that Gonga? No, you can't
Speaker 1: control yourself any lung.
Speaker 2: I was shaking my teeth. Is it getting strong? Good?
Speaker 1: Don't you fight it till you've tried to do that?
Speaker 1: Kunga be dun dun dunna. I feel like I nailed.
Speaker 2: It, You nailed it one hundred percent. But for her
Speaker 2: drummer to be this writer and take care Kiki to
Speaker 2: like write this song like he wrote this song, and
Speaker 2: she's like, what a duo.
Speaker 1: The whole band is instance much?
Speaker 2: And how they all found each other? I know.
Speaker 1: I mean it's like cousins, primos friends, like get everyone
Speaker 1: together in the backyard. I mean, it's like Selena and Losino's,
Speaker 1: but like thirty years before that. Obviously, Joseph and I
Speaker 1: love the song. But this song reached the top ten
Speaker 1: in so many different countries, not just the US. We're
Speaker 1: talking international top ten list. This song was the song
Speaker 1: and even Gloria recognizes that. When it comes to the
Speaker 1: Miami Sound Machine, Gonga is their signature song.
Speaker 2: They would also go on to release the song Hot
Speaker 2: Summer Nights, which would be featured in the nineteen eighty
Speaker 2: six film Top Gun. It doesn't get more Merca than.
Speaker 1: That, exactly. Give the gringos what they want, something that
Speaker 1: feels exotic but familiar, and in that the Astephans created
Speaker 1: the blueprint for the crossover, which they would later share
Speaker 1: with other Latino like Shakida and Ricky Martin.
Speaker 2: Preach Honey Primitive Love also elevated it all. Gloria's vocals
Speaker 2: were insane, the music, the style, it was all really
Speaker 2: daring and I feel like unapologetically flamboyant in the rhythm.
Speaker 1: Would you say the rhythm was going to get you bite?
Speaker 2: The rhythm got me and it took me. Their next
Speaker 2: album was nineteen eighty seven's Let It Loose. It became
Speaker 2: Miami Sound Machine's most commercially successful album.
Speaker 1: By then, Gloria Stephan took Top Billain. The band's name
Speaker 1: was changed to Gloria Stepan and the Miami Sound Machine.
Speaker 2: Soon, The Miami Sound Machine would perform with Gloria as
Speaker 2: its main lead singer and official headline.
Speaker 1: On the next becoming an Icon Gloria Ghost Solo and
Speaker 1: The Accident That almost changed everything for THEA Stephans. Becoming
Speaker 1: an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael Duda
Speaker 1: podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast