Gloria Estefan announces that her next album will be Brazilian music

September 17, 2020

'Brazil305' celebrates 'the African union existing between the musical roots of Cuba and Brazil', she says.

After a prolonged silence following her mother's death, Cuban singer Gloria Estefan returns to music to give voice to the 18 songs that make up her latest album Brazil305, released in mid-August, with the number in the title representing Miami's area code.

From the selection, four songs are unreleased and 14 are new versions of classics from the performer's career, all part of a production that the artist describes as a celebration of the African union existing in the musical roots between Cuba and Brazil, which she has kept very present since childhood.

"My mother loved music from all over the world, and although when we left Cuba we only took one suitcase, my grandmother would send her a box of mango compote for me, because it was the only thing I ate, and she would hide her records in there," the singer recounted.

"There I learned not only about Cuban music, from Celia Cruz, Cachao and Olga Guillot, but also from the trio Los Panchos; Javier Solís, from Mexico; Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore, Andy Williams, Dean Martin, the Standards, Frank Sinatra, and from Brazil the music of Elis Regina, and I had records even from Carmen Miranda. She was very famous in Cuba. As you can see, I've been fascinated by it since childhood," expressed the also actress.

This album finished mixing in the summer of 2019, but its release was delayed due to recent events, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of Police in the USA.

The Cuban performer released in June the song "Cuando hay amor", which was released the day before the third anniversary of her mother's death.

"We need a bit of balance with all the sadness we're experiencing and I wanted it to be that song. Music has saved me at various moments in my life and the fans always let me know that my music has helped them through both the happy and sad moments of their lives," she said.

The selection includes songs like "Samba", a version of the famous "Conga", her 1985 hit with Miami Sound Machine; "Tú y yo", the Spanish version of "Here we are"; and "Magalenha", recorded in Portuguese with legendary Brazilian vocalist Carlinhos Brown.

"This production was like celebrating again the African union existing between the musical roots of Cuba and Brazil, but that grew into different styles," she said.

The songs, story and musical collaborators of Brazil305 will take on a new dimension with the premiere in March 2021 of the documentary Sangre Yoruba, recorded in Brazil.

"These are songs that people are used to hearing throughout the years, but in a new way. Music is a bridge and at the root of our music a large part of Latin America is Africa, and there are African rhythms that, through the influences of our different countries, took on other nuances, but the idea is that at the root we are all equal as human beings and we can share countless rhythms and musical experiences, no matter where you come from," she concluded.

Estefan will be one of the participating voices in the digital benefit concert "Viva Broadway! Hear Our Voices", to be held on October 1st to celebrate Latin culture and its achievements in New York theater.

She will be joined by Chita Rivera, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thalía, Lucie Arnaz, Melissa Barrera, Jaime Camil, Florencia Cuenca, Raúl Esparza, Mandy González, Raúl González, Iván Hernández, Ariana DeBose, Mauricio Martínez, Bianca Marroquín, Shereen Pimentel, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Philippa Stefani, Angélica Vale, Robin de Jesús and Ana Villafañe, among others.