Gloria Estefan: “Like Coming Home, But Not to the Old Cuba”

“Her father, José Fajardo, was the bodyguard to the wife of Cuban president Batista — but when Gloria was just 16 months old, Castro’s revolution forced the family to flee its homeland. José joined the United States Army and served as an officer in Vietnam, where he was exposed to Agent Orange. When he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, ten-year-old Gloria became his nurse and looked after her younger sister while her mother worked.

At 17, Gloria sang a few songs at a wedding. Though shy, she came to life on stage; soon she was the singer of that band, the Miami Sound Machine. She got more than a job. In the spring of 1978, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami; a few months later, on her 22nd birthday, she married the band’s leader, Emilio Estefan, Jr.”

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