Speaker 1: Real talk. There's nothing more iconic than Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
Speaker 2: But I will say that we have come up with
Speaker 2: a list of a few other names that come really close,
Speaker 2: but they're always at the very top of that list.
Speaker 1: I mean, come on, who hasn't heard come on, shake
Speaker 1: your body, baby, do that? Gon got No, you can
Speaker 1: control yourself any longa you'd have to be allervin under
Speaker 1: a rock, seriously gone to the most boring New Year's
Speaker 1: party or consignelas ever.
Speaker 2: Because if you're not familiar with their work, you've at
Speaker 2: least heard.
Speaker 3: The names Gloria and Emilio.
Speaker 2: I mean, you feel the weight that they hold when
Speaker 2: it comes to.
Speaker 3: Pop culture music, Latin me that all of it.
Speaker 1: Oh, yes you do, honey, Yes you do. I wasn't
Speaker 1: even born in nineteen eighty seven.
Speaker 3: And lies so many lies.
Speaker 1: Let have me finished. I wasn't even born in nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty seven, and my body just can't sit still whenever
Speaker 1: I hear rhythm is gonna get you.
Speaker 3: Get tonight, dun.
Speaker 1: I loved that it was gonna getcha.
Speaker 3: It's so good.
Speaker 2: And by the way, I didn't know you were such
Speaker 2: a versatile Latino jukebox.
Speaker 1: I mean it's Gloria say, make.
Speaker 3: Such a good song.
Speaker 2: And nowadays they're both given credit for paving the way
Speaker 2: and setting the stage for Latin music and for.
Speaker 1: The next generation of Latino iPhones.
Speaker 2: Gloria Stephan, the queen of Latin pop, took up space
Speaker 2: when it was rarely given to Latina's.
Speaker 1: Emilio Stefan helped bring other artists up with them, stepping
Speaker 1: up as producer. Talk about a powerful duo long before
Speaker 1: there was any Queen Bee jay Z. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean.
Speaker 2: I know without them there might never have been a
Speaker 2: Ricky Martin, a Jennifer Lopez, or even a Shakira.
Speaker 1: What a sad, sad world that would have been. So
Speaker 1: us Still, their journey wasn't easy. While there was love
Speaker 1: in their lives, they also came across a lot of
Speaker 1: loss and grief.
Speaker 2: We'll be focusing the story around Gloria's specific rise to
Speaker 2: the top, but their careers are perfectly linked. It really
Speaker 2: is a love story at heart. It's beautiful and honestly,
Speaker 2: these days, it's starting to feel a little far fetched
Speaker 2: to believe that some people are actually meant to be
Speaker 2: together for life.
Speaker 1: Yet they are living proof of it every day, even
Speaker 1: I have to say it. Born on opposite sides of
Speaker 1: the same island.
Speaker 2: Gloria and Emilio Stefan found their way to each other
Speaker 2: despite the odds, their love and determination to follow a
Speaker 2: dream would change everything. With a revival for the critically
Speaker 2: acclaimed jukebox musical On Your Feet.
Speaker 1: Two Super Bowl Have Time shows.
Speaker 3: Two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Speaker 1: Two Presidential Medals of Freedom.
Speaker 2: A recipient of the Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress.
Speaker 1: Twenty six Grammy Awards and counting.
Speaker 2: And numerous acting gigs, including the most recent and equally
Speaker 2: critically acclaimed twenty twenty two remake of Father of the Bride.
Speaker 1: Who exactly is Gloria Stefan?
Speaker 2: How did the step Funds find their way to each
Speaker 2: other in order to rise to the top together and
Speaker 2: what makes them iconic?
Speaker 3: I'm your host Lilianavosquez.
Speaker 1: And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 2: A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
Speaker 2: how today's most famous LATINV stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 1: And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 3: Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 1: Because we are going in the only way we know
Speaker 1: how with Buenas v us, I'm buenasriesas some and a
Speaker 1: lot of opinions.
Speaker 2: As we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to
Speaker 2: find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 1: The Estefans are Miami royalty.
Speaker 2: According to the Washington Post, their estimated wealth is a
Speaker 2: staggering five hundred to seven hundred million dollars.
Speaker 3: Uh huh.
Speaker 2: They own restaurants, hotels, are Recording Studio, a publishing company,
Speaker 2: tons of real estate, and, like fellow icon Mark Anthony,
Speaker 2: a minority partnership in the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: I mean, that is one of the real I means
Speaker 1: I've ever said. They are royalty, like American royalty, whatever.
Speaker 3: Latin royalty. They're kuban Als, remember.
Speaker 1: I mean, but here they are here like the dolphins.
Speaker 1: Come on, No, but before, how did you ever hear
Speaker 1: about Gloria Stefan like you for real from the beginning?
Speaker 2: Well, my mom, I mean, I think most of my
Speaker 2: introduction to kind of some of our older icons obviously
Speaker 2: came through my parents. My dad not such a fan,
Speaker 2: but my mom was always a really big fan of Gloria,
Speaker 2: and my grandmother was too to be honest. You know,
Speaker 2: she's old school, and I think her music has evolved
Speaker 2: a lot. But you know, I'm a child of the eighties,
Speaker 2: so you can't talk eighties and not talk about Miami
Speaker 2: Sound Machine. Like I remember dancing to that being like
Speaker 2: a little girl like class. I mean, I love that sound,
Speaker 2: and I think it just made the Latin sound so
Speaker 2: familiar for people for the very first time. I mean
Speaker 2: like American people, I don't mean like other Latinos. Like
Speaker 2: we know, we know we're born with that sound in
Speaker 2: our blood. But for a lot of people, their first
Speaker 2: real introduction to quote unquote Latin music came through the
Speaker 2: Miami Sound Machine. Like you know those people that are
Speaker 2: like once a generation, they just have a voice. She
Speaker 2: was destined, I think for so many icons, specifically her.
Speaker 3: It was written in the stars.
Speaker 2: She was going to be this successful, she was going
Speaker 2: to be this talented. She had it from a very
Speaker 2: young age.
Speaker 1: It's funny that you say that, you know, we grew
Speaker 1: up with this. I will say I know all of
Speaker 1: her music, but I didn't know it was her, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean until I saw the movie The
Speaker 1: Birdcage and one of the actors he's like his name
Speaker 1: is Sparta guess, so he's like a drag queen, but
Speaker 1: he's not. He always had this little radio playing Gloria
Speaker 1: Stefan and he would call his speaker because Gloria was
Speaker 1: always playing. He would say, come on Gloria and they
Speaker 1: would redo her. And so I kind of like then
Speaker 1: put it together, Like I know who Gloria Stephan was,
Speaker 1: but her music from like the eighties, I didn't like
Speaker 1: know the sound, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: I think you're hitting on something that feels really familiar,
Speaker 2: probably for a lot of our listeners. And that's why
Speaker 2: this podcast exists, because you might know the music, but
Speaker 2: you don't really know the icon.
Speaker 3: So let's get into it.
Speaker 1: In the fifties, the tides were changing in Kuba.
Speaker 3: Before the revolution, it was a hub for culture.
Speaker 2: Recognizable figures would visit all the time, and I'm talking
Speaker 2: names like Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, Majure. But
Speaker 2: Cuba is much more than a tourist destination for Hemingway
Speaker 2: fans looking for La Floridita.
Speaker 1: Home to a pop culture icon.
Speaker 2: Born in Havana, Gloria Stefon found herself under a Caribbean
Speaker 2: son soaking in the rays and her full name BTW
Speaker 2: Gloria Maria Milagarossa Fajarlo Garcia go girl.
Speaker 1: Wow deserves more specifically, she was born on September one,
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty seven. Okay, I'm channeling my innerwild dad. So
Speaker 1: she's a Virgo son, a Sagittarius Moon, and a Sagittarius rising. Okay,
Speaker 1: that means she's super methodical and a quick thinker, but
Speaker 1: she can often get stressed easily. She's very much a happy,
Speaker 1: go lucky kind of person too, and I love her
Speaker 1: for that.
Speaker 3: I'm sure her parents love that about her as well.
Speaker 1: Glodia's family had actually traveled from Spain to Cuba.
Speaker 2: And while is Stephan's maternal side participated in the islands
Speaker 2: politics at the time, her great grandfather served as the
Speaker 2: head chef for two of Cuba's presidents. Her paternal so well,
Speaker 2: that's where the music comes from. Her family tree included
Speaker 2: a famous flutist and a classical pianist. Her maternal grandparents,
Speaker 2: Leonardo Garcia and Gonzuelo Pees, both immigrated from Spain. Despite
Speaker 2: coming from different parts of their home country, Fate is
Speaker 2: what brought them together in Cuba, where Emilio and Gloria
Speaker 2: met and later married.
Speaker 1: Hummm. Gloria's mother, Gloria Facardo, was said to have a
Speaker 1: killer voice.
Speaker 2: It's all in the genes here and reflecting back on
Speaker 2: her mother, Gloria has said this, She's sang beautifully. She
Speaker 2: was gorgeous. She looked like Liz Taylor. No matter what
Speaker 2: she was doing. She was dressed and made up to
Speaker 2: the nuns. During the Stephan's childhood, her mother had even
Speaker 2: received an offer to dub Shirley Temple's films in Spanish.
Speaker 3: Shut up mmmm, But she was never allowed.
Speaker 1: Okay. Her father aka Glodia's grandfather, mister Garcia, told Mama Gloria,
Speaker 1: no sepwade honey. So she did the next badest thing
Speaker 1: she could think of. Went on to pursue a PhD
Speaker 1: in education in Cuba.
Speaker 2: Her father, on the other hand, worked as a farmer
Speaker 2: in Cuba as well. Or that's what Glodia's mother had
Speaker 2: told her the Jews. In reality, Glodia's father, Jose participated
Speaker 2: in the nineteen sixty one A Bay of Pigs invasion.
Speaker 2: He was captured by his cousin. Okay, his cousin cousin,
Speaker 2: a member of the Gastro's troops and would spend the
Speaker 2: next two years incarcerated in Cuba.
Speaker 1: Okay, Gloria wasn't on the island long enough to see
Speaker 1: this happen.
Speaker 2: In nineteen fifty nine, Gloria was only two years old
Speaker 2: when her family fled like many other Cubans during the
Speaker 2: Cuban Revolution.
Speaker 1: Like many Cubans, Gloria and her family thought their time
Speaker 1: in Miami would only be temporary.
Speaker 2: In an interview with The Washington Post in twenty seventeen,
Speaker 2: she shared this, I still have my Cuban baby pass,
Speaker 2: support my round trip PanAm ticket in the Hey, who
Speaker 2: knew what was going to happen to us? There were
Speaker 2: so many possibilities, so many things that could unfold.
Speaker 1: Soon enough, they'd be calling Miami home. As they settled
Speaker 1: in Miami, they opened what came to be known as
Speaker 1: one of the first Cuban restaurants in the city.
Speaker 2: But the family struggled financially on top of discrimination. Glodia
Speaker 2: recalls establishments that would have signs that read no children,
Speaker 2: no pets, no Cubans. While they were going through all
Speaker 2: of this, Glordia's dad was involved in the Bay of
Speaker 2: Pigs invasion which left Glodia's mom to take care of
Speaker 2: her daughters on her own.
Speaker 1: Wait, no children, no pets, no Cubans, what the fuck?
Speaker 2: It's important that we share that because I don't know
Speaker 2: that people realized the discrimination that Cubans faced when they first.
Speaker 3: Came to Miami.
Speaker 2: I mean, you go to Miami now and it's like, oh,
Speaker 2: it's little Havana, right. Things were not like that in
Speaker 2: the sick even in the seventies.
Speaker 1: Okay, hold on, So I know that you did your
Speaker 1: homework and I did not because I'm not a good
Speaker 1: I'm not good at this. So what is the Bay
Speaker 1: of Pigs invasion? Or do you know that from history? Like?
Speaker 1: Should we know of this?
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean you probably learned it at some point
Speaker 2: in high school history. You probably don't remember it, but it.
Speaker 3: Was pretty messed up.
Speaker 2: So the Bay of Pigs invasion was an invasion of
Speaker 2: Cuba in nineteen sixty one by fifteen hundred Cuban exiles
Speaker 2: that were opposed to Fidel Castro.
Speaker 3: And guess who financed it and directed it?
Speaker 1: Stop who we did? Okay of course? Yeah?
Speaker 3: The US government.
Speaker 2: So the reason it's called Bay of Pigs is it
Speaker 2: because the location of the invasion was the baia the cocinos.
Speaker 3: Joseph translate for us, what is that?
Speaker 1: I know? Ay? Okay, okay, but for real, Colaccino is
Speaker 1: a big exactly Wait, who was president? This is some
Speaker 1: Nixon shit, isn't it?
Speaker 3: It was actually John F. Kennedy.
Speaker 2: And the whole thing was so messy they failed to
Speaker 2: raise the ransom amount demanded by Fidel Gastro's reparations, so
Speaker 2: the prisoners, including Gloria's dad, were ultimately released.
Speaker 1: When her dad was finally released from Cuban custody, he
Speaker 1: traveled to the US, but the reunion was cut short.
Speaker 1: He enlisted and was shipped off to Nan in nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty six.
Speaker 2: Due to exposure to agent orange during his time stationed
Speaker 2: in Vietnam, Josef Fajardo fell ill with multiple sclerosis. Gloria,
Speaker 2: now eleven, and her sister, Rebecca, now four, took care
Speaker 2: of their father once he came back, while their mother
Speaker 2: worked to provide for them as a public school teacher.
Speaker 1: Young Gloria grew up as the mother figure at home
Speaker 1: whenever their mom was away, you know, kind of like
Speaker 1: the eldest child thing.
Speaker 3: Oh don't I know that? Life? For real?
Speaker 2: Though many said she was a quiet, reserved and serious kid,
Speaker 2: but it was all probably because she had to grow
Speaker 2: up so fast. When she wasn't taking care of her dad,
Speaker 2: she was studying at a Catholic school in Miami, and
Speaker 2: it was there where she learned to play the guitar,
Speaker 2: kickstarting her journey onto the music scene.
Speaker 1: But at this point music was just a hobby.
Speaker 2: Education was the most important thing in the Fajardo Garcia household,
Speaker 2: and Gloria had her priority straight. By nineteen seventy four,
Speaker 2: she became a US citizen, and by.
Speaker 1: Nineteen seventy five she was attending the University of Miami
Speaker 1: in Coral Gables, Florida.
Speaker 2: It was also during this time that she met Emilio Stephan.
Speaker 2: Emilio Stephan was a keyboardist for a band called the
Speaker 2: Miami Latin Boys.
Speaker 3: I think I know them, you know the whole band.
Speaker 3: I bet all them boys.
Speaker 2: He's been musically inclined since he was a little kid.
Speaker 2: It was during his formative years that he'd played the
Speaker 2: accordion to earn enough tips to support his family.
Speaker 1: Growing up, he'd go to school and work for the
Speaker 1: Baccarty's in Miami. He started in the mail room, and
Speaker 1: in return, they helped him with his education.
Speaker 2: As he got older, he'd work at Baccarti until four pm.
Speaker 2: He'd changed in his car, go to school at night,
Speaker 2: then change again and play the accordion at restaurants. Bitch
Speaker 2: the accordion, Yes, Joseph, it's an important instrument.
Speaker 1: It is, it is.
Speaker 2: And when the Bookardi family became aware, they actually asked
Speaker 2: him to perform at a family function. So he gathered
Speaker 2: up a few players and they performed as a band
Speaker 2: all night. From that moment on, he was invited to
Speaker 2: perform at many private parties.
Speaker 1: And with that money honey, he was able to help
Speaker 1: his family travel from Cuba to Miami.
Speaker 2: By nineteen seventy five, Emilia's crew had become the Miami
Speaker 2: Latin Boys and they were in demand.
Speaker 1: The guy with the accordion was in high demand.
Speaker 2: What do you personally have against accordions? Like they feel
Speaker 2: attacked by you.
Speaker 1: I just listen. My grandpa played it. I love it
Speaker 1: very much, but I just can't see it it being
Speaker 1: cool like he was playing it in Ranchov. You know,
Speaker 1: I just can't.
Speaker 2: Again, nothing wrong with accordions, and don't be a hater
Speaker 2: against Ranchov okay, I love my Ranchos. The Miami Boys
Speaker 2: were so hot in the market and created so much
Speaker 2: buzz that they were invited to give pointers to a
Speaker 2: local church ensemble. The thing about this particular church is
Speaker 2: that Gloria was a member. When asked about Glodia singing
Speaker 2: at the time, he said, she sounded really good.
Speaker 1: Okay, what in the espiritu santu? Just really good? Not talented, brilliant, incredible,
Speaker 1: amazing shows something spectacular, never the same, totally you, Nique,
Speaker 1: completely not ever been done before.
Speaker 2: No, she does recall something different about the encounter, though.
Speaker 2: Emilio had brought his trusty accordion and we he was
Speaker 2: wearing your favorite short shorts, the Daisy Dupe in her words,
Speaker 2: not mine. They were quote very short, little brown shorts
Speaker 2: that your mother made you.
Speaker 3: Because those looked like homemade.
Speaker 2: Shorts, for sure, and I know later on that she
Speaker 2: actually made you those shorts short shorts.
Speaker 1: Let me throw it back to the olden times, young
Speaker 1: Amelio sounded like a little rascal.
Speaker 2: Or a hooligan, as our former icon Bruno Marsh would say.
Speaker 3: But funnily enough, nothing even happened that day.
Speaker 2: I mean, hello, they were in church okay, so Daisy Dukes.
Speaker 2: They were in church and Daisy Duke's nothing happened. They met,
Speaker 2: he gave them pointers, then he left despite being impressed
Speaker 2: by Glodia singing. It wasn't until they met again at
Speaker 2: a Cuban wedding at the DuPont Plaza Hotel. The Miami
Speaker 2: Latin Boys were performing at a wedding and who was
Speaker 2: a guest at this wedding Gloria. Emelia ran into her
Speaker 2: and immediately recognized her.
Speaker 3: She remembered him too.
Speaker 1: And funny thing is that they're talking. And meanwhile Glodia's
Speaker 1: mom be like, was that the home dude with the
Speaker 1: Daisy Dukes talking to my daughter?
Speaker 3: But listen still, it was all very, very polite.
Speaker 1: Then he had an idea.
Speaker 2: The band at the time didn't have a lead singer,
Speaker 2: and because of this, all of the guys just took
Speaker 2: turns singing at different events.
Speaker 1: Emiliel remembered how good of a singer Gloria was, and
Speaker 1: he was like, hey, why don't you perform with us tonight.
Speaker 2: Gloria was hesitant, she had been petrified the previous time
Speaker 2: he'd seen her sing.
Speaker 1: Well for some reason, she said, yes, it means you'll.
Speaker 3: Call that night a big success.
Speaker 2: It seemed as though the Miami Latin Boys had finally
Speaker 2: found their lead singer.
Speaker 1: Okay, honey, let's not get carried away here. While Gloria
Speaker 1: considered it, Mama said no.
Speaker 2: Gloria got the opportunity to be the lead singer for
Speaker 2: the Miami Latin Boys, but her mom was like, uh no, no, no, Senorita,
Speaker 2: school comes first.
Speaker 1: Hey, these Latin mommies be cramped. I mean our Soio.
Speaker 2: Lah, I feel you on it, but I hate to
Speaker 2: admit it. Most of the time they're onto something.
Speaker 1: Okay, not all of the time, but like find most.
Speaker 2: But Glordia was smart. She was not going to let
Speaker 2: this opportunity pass her by, and she was quick on
Speaker 2: her feet. When Emilio had seen her perform with the
Speaker 2: church ensemble, her cousin Mercedis Mehrstinavado had been there too.
Speaker 1: So Gladia suggested they both join the band. Look two
Speaker 1: for one special Heney.
Speaker 3: Who doesn't love that?
Speaker 2: It was that that seemed to do the trick, because
Speaker 2: Gloria was allowed to join the Miami Latin Boys realized
Speaker 2: they needed a name change.
Speaker 3: With Gloria and her cousin joining the band.
Speaker 1: By nineteen seventy seven, the Miami Sound Machine was born.
Speaker 3: On the next Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1: Get on your feet, get up, and may get it
Speaker 1: happened the rise of the Miami Sound.
Speaker 2: Machine, the wedding that officially gave us Gloria Stefan, and.
Speaker 1: The chart topping hit that gave them global starting.
Speaker 2: Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Speaker 2: Duda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.