Gloria Estefan Quotes on Resilience
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Always. Difficulties happen and you get through them. When I say 'no llores,' it doesn't just mean literally crying; it means looking at the bad things in your life rather than the positive. I always think of Celia Cruz as an inspiration. So many times I saw her backstage and her knee was killing her and I had to help her up the steps, but she would step on that stage and nobody knew that she was hurting.
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I'm in great shape considering I have hardware in my back. I work out constantly to keep my muscles limber and my abs strong so they can take the burnt of everything.
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[While her father was a political prisoner in Cuba] I was always singing and dancing and reciting poems -- that was how I used to do my crying over my father. There were a lot of negotiations between the US and Cuban governments over the next couple of years [1961 - 1963]. [Castro proposed an exchange of prisoners for food, medicine and building machinery], and eventually my dad was released. It was wonderful to have him home -- it was probably the happiest time in my life. For once, the whole family was together, living a normal life. That was when my sister, Becky, was born [1964], and it was also when I started guitar lessons. I would lock myself away in my room for days, learning how to play. Even then I was beginning to work out that music was a way to cut throught all the BS.
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For I've finally realized, that I could be infinitely better than before, definitely stronger. I'll face whatever comes my way, I'll savor each moment of the day, Love as many people as I can along the way. Help someone who's given up, even if it's just to raise my eyes and pray.
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Sometimes one bad decision can mess up your life. We seal our fate with the choices we make. But don't give a second thought to the chances we take... Surely, you say, it's not as bad as you make it sound. If we make a mistake, you can always turn it back around. Get back on the straight and narrow -- When I'm through having all my fun . . . We seal our fate with the choices we make . . .
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And, because of the life that I shared with these two amazing women [her mother and maternal grandmother] and the hardships and struggles that I saw them overcome, I learned an invaluable lesson: and that is that women can do anything we set our minds to . . . and then some!
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I spent my childhood alone, overweight and ugly, angry at everything, and knowing nothing of a life beyond this sadness.
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[After the 1990 bus accident] I could not feel my legs, and I knew that I was paralysed. For me, this was a premonition of my worst fate proved right. When I was a child, I always ran up the stairs two at a time, and when I reached the top I would say to myself, one day I won't be able to do this because like my father I will lose the use of my body. Now I knew it had happened. For months afterwards I was locked back in myself, just as I had been when I was a child. But also part of my premonition had always been, strangely, that I would lose my body but in the end it would be all right.
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I have had a life in which I have had to face every big fear, and it has not been pleasant.
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[After a poor prognosis for recovery from her doctor following her 1990 bus accident] I said if it is up to me, I'm going to be OK.
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To me, humor is one of the most important things in my life; it has helped me through some very rough points. My humor can sometimes be irreverent, but every moment it has been there with me, even through the darkest moments. I think it helps us to not take ourselves too seriously. There is just too much to celebrate and too much to be grateful for.
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Many people didn't realize it at the time [of the bus accident], but Emilio didn't know if he could handle something as emotional as that. Men are often very goal-oriented and problem-solving, even in their emotional life. My husband could have turned and run the other way, and I'm sure that many have done that. But Emilio became so supportive, I couldn't have asked for more love and support. I really would not have been the same without him. It deepened our relationship beyond what words can describe, because we lived through a very tough experience together.