Gloria Estefan: Hija del Exilio - Daughter of the Exile

By Andres Perez

Born in Cuba, raised in Miami Gloria Estefan is at the vanguard of the second generation of the Cuban exile. Like other young exiles she carries the burden of suffering and sacrifice her parents made for freedom.

``My whole family paid a heavy price for freedom. My father not only fought in the Bay of Pigs, he volunteered to fight in Vietnam. He fought for these same freedoms. I watched him die a slow death for 14 years. I was not about to let anyone stomp on those ideals.''

Estefan has traveled the world as a Cuban-American musician, and she has been an emissary on behalf of the Cuban Exile. She is its most visible representative, and like the rest of the exile she is very clear about the wrong done to the Cuban people under the Castroite tyranny.

''People don't have a lot of information and when they ask me about it, I tell them about the drama of the exiles, the repression, the firing squads, the horror of communism. I'm very clear about that. 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?,'' said Estefan. Sometimes, speaking about Cuba is not easy, said Estefan.''When they invited me to sing at the Vatican, they asked me what I was going to say,'' said Estefan. ''I told them that I was going to ask the Holy Father for Cuba's freedom. And the Vatican official said, 'Oh no, my daughter, that's political. So I told them that if they didn't let me ask for Cuba's freedom, they would have to get someone else because I wouldn't sing. They gave in and as soon as I grabbed the mike I said it very clearly: Holy Father, do not forget to ask for Cuba's freedom in your prayers.''

According to Elise Ackerman, "In Cuba, salsa music sung by exiled performers like Willy Chirino or Gloria Estefan is taboo." Their music is not played over Cuban government radio. Additionally, when Gloria Estefan was to sing at the Pan Am games in 1986 the Cuban government was outraged that the Miami Sound Machine had been selected to perform; both Gloria and her husband Emilio Estefan are Cuban exiles. Estefan's music has preserved and expanded upon Cuban musical traditions going back to the 30's and 40's while offering something new for the 1990s. When you listen to songs such as Mi Tierra or Go Away you'll understand why the Cuban government detests her so. She stated that the song "Go Away" was meant for Fidel Castro. A sampling of the lyrics speak for themselves: 


                                   Won't you just go away
                                          Go away
                                 Don't you come back one day
                                        Take your stuff   
			       Take all of your precious things
                                        Leave right now
                               Who knows what tomorrow brings

                                        Stay away
                                Won't you please stay away
                                      Live your life
                                 But live it real far away
                                       Save yourself
                                There's no way to get it all  
			               Look around
                                The writing is on the wall

Nearly ten years later in 1995 Cuban-born celebrities Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia returned to Cuba to serenade some 16,000 Cuban refugees held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay. In 1997, Gloria Estefan appeared on CNN defending the Embargo as a moral imperative, and once again exposed the regime in Cuba for what it is: a brutal tyranny. Towards the end of 1997 she spoke out in defense of free speech. She was attacked from some quarters, but defended by many more. In 1998 she released Gloria! with a rousing song calling for Cuban freedom in the track Cuba Libre. She has demonstrated that in Miami freedom of speech and tolerance do exist, and for that she serves the memory of her father and of the historical exile well.

Copyright 1997 YARA