24 Gloria Estefan Quotes on Identity

Gloria Estefan quotes on identity

10. The most beautiful things in this country have the flavor of other places. Chinese food. Pizza came from the Italians, but it's an American experience. French fries. There's always some other cultures involved. You don't have to be a hyphenated American, but you can certainly be an American who doesn't forget where they came from.

45. Well, I'm proud of it. I was declard persona non grata not by the country but by a terrorist regime. But I know that Cubans love me and my music.

61. Well, fortunately, I am bilingual and I have really two cultures. So when you have that to draw on, you are able to write from one extreme to the other, or anywhere in-between. If you look at my discography, you will notice that one of my favorite albums is 'Gloria!', which is totally dance-oriented, with very sensual lyrics; and then there's 'Mi Tierra which is totoally roots-oriented and really promoted our culture worldwide through music, and that's important for me and also for people of Cuba to know that even though we were in exile and I grew up in the States, our culture and our music are very much a part of my life.

79. We're lucky to call Miami and the United States home. What other city can claim to have its own foreign policy? Miami is many things, but it is never boring.

84. I thought it would be lovely to use [pet bulldog] Noelle as an example to teach the importance of being who you are. For me it's important to inspire children in a positive way, and at times they understand more messages through entertainment than when one is talking to them directly.

86. I had always thought about a lullaby album. But when Noelle came along, my little Colombian bulldog, she really gave me a plethora of ideas. I remembered when I was little in Texas and I was the only Hispanic in my class. Because the first book was about feelings, how Noelle's weaknesses turned into her strengths. That you have to keep your identity.

91. [I] grew up in this city [Miami], and my music is a blend of two cultures. In the beginning it was heavily Cuban. At this point it's [from] all over . . .

93. [Cuban coffee is] very powerful, very sweet, and a little dangerous -- just like the people who drink it.

94. I left Cuba when I was two years old. They took away my country, they stole the most intimate thing a human being can have. How could I forget that Fidel Castro was the person who did me so much harm?

100. I was 16 months old when I left Cuba, so I really don't remember anything [about Cuba].

103. You know, I don't know about this 'Diva thing,' O.K. This 'Diva thing' is getting a little out of hand, I think. I mean if anything, I'm a divette.

113. [My forthcoming book features] Noelle's experience as a loveable, yet very unconventional looking dog, who must find her way through life in her new adopted home, feeling different and confronting a bevy of clustered animal cliques whose ultimate reluctance to include Noelle in their world is soon offset by Noelle's true, albeit hidden, beauty. [I hope it has] special resonance with the immigrant communities in the United States (primarily of Hispanic heritage) who may, like Noelle, feel they culturally do not, and will not, fit in with a culture so foreign from their own.

120. If I had to take eveything into consideration, [the truly essential song] would have to be 'Conga.' First, because I don't think I can get away with not performing that song in some shape or form. Second, because it started the possiblility of 'Mi Tierra' [Estefan's top-selling Spanish album] happening. Not only did it talk about a specific rhythm of my homeland [Cuba], it talked about being Latino, and the celebratory nature of dance. It was very musically forward in that it mixed a funk bassline and a 2/4 beat on the drums and the Latin percussion. It was something that really put us on the map. And even though it's a frivolous and fun song, it talks about who we are as immigrants in this land.

134. My friends call me 'Dolittle One' [a reference to her physical stature and affinity for animals].

135. I wanted to talk to very young kids about self-image and about being different and how that can be your strength, especially from the immigrant perspective.

160. I'm a writer. I've written most of the music we've performed. Most people don't know that because no one cares who writes the music. But, that's who I am. I've written poetry since I was a little girl. Music was an evolution of that.

169. However long we live here, however much I feel at home in Miami, I -- like everyone else -- am an exile, an exile who cannot go home.

171. I spent my childhood alone, overweight and ugly, angry at everything, and knowing nothing of a life beyond this sadness.

177. More than anything I want to be able to go back to Cuba, to have a house to visit there, to know my roots. I lost my father as a little girl, and I want to be able to find him again in my heritage.

191. The United States stands tall, representing a parade of nations, 300 million strong. That number will grow during today's citizenship ceremony, featuring the national anthem performed by pop star Gloria Estefan. She captures the essence of what makes this country so great: Ms. Estefan arrived from Cuba as a 2-year-old and would eventually chase her amitions of becoming a singer. She would incorporate salsa into mainstream American music, reflecting the true meaning of this country as a melting pot.

195. People told me at the beginning: 'You're too Latin for the American, too American for the Latins.' But that's who I am, I'm a Cuban-American -- I'm not one thing or the other. I have an American head and a Cuban heart.

203. If I had one thing that I wanted people to say about me, what would it be? Hmm . . . Probably: Oh, she's so tall! Oh my gosh, she's so tall!

219. When people meet me, they are surprised at how sick and warped I am.

221. Fame is something you get from other people. It's not that I have some intrinsic thing that makes me famous. If your self image depends on that fame, you're in trouble.