Grammy Award-winning Cuban-American powerhouse Gloria Estefan covers the August/September issue of AARP The Magazine.
Posing with her husband Emilio, the Latin sensation speaks candidly about her personal and professional reinventions and their enduring 30-year romance.
Here are some highlights:
On how music helped her to cope with her father’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis
“I wanted to be strong for my mom, but it was very tough for me. If there’s ever been a dark moment in my life… well, I wanted to check out. Music was a big escape.”
On embracing life at 50+
“This is the time in my life when I’m doing everything I want to do, when I want to do it. It’s ‘me time.’”
On the secret to their marriage
“He’s kept me laughing and I think that’s a big part of our relationship too and why it’s been so good so long. Because if you can laugh with somebody, that’s healing for sure.”
On the qualities she most admires in her husband
“Oh my gosh, Emilio—he’s a dreamer who makes things a reality.”
“What really drew me to him was his incredible energy. He’s a motivator and he certainly motivated me and everyone around him. He was my boss for a year so I really got to know him before we got together as a couple.”
On keeping the romance alive
“Romance is a part of our life every minute. My favorite thing is when he leaves on a trip I will find a little note somewhere I didn’t expect: “I love you baby” either next to my toothbrush or on our pillow.”
On recovering from nearly severing her spinal cord in a 1991 bus accident
“I learned firsthand the power of prayer. People will never realize how much their good thoughts helped me.”
On feeling a connection to her native Cuba
“There’s something that pulls me to Cuba and its plight, even though I’ve been here for more than 50 years. That love of a homeland that no longer is the same reaches into every aspect of who I am.”
On turning her and Emilio’s life together into a Broadway musical
“There are so many story lines. It’s a universal story, it’s an immigrant story, and it’s a love story. In the United States, if you believe in yourself and you’re determined and persevere, you’re going to succeed.”
** Quotes from Emilio Estefan **
On paying cash for the properties he owns
“My success is not about money. But the real estate—as an immigrant, you always want to have a backup. Something happens to you, you don’t want your kids to go through what you went through.”
On how music changed his life
“Music took me away from the pain. It took me nine years to raise enough to bring my mom and older brother from Cuba to Miami. That was nine years apart from my family.”
On defying age stereotypes
“Age gives you something you cannot buy. It gives you wisdom, balance and peace.”
“I’m doing the biggest things of my life right now.”
On first love
“When you like somebody, it’s about the smell, the eyes, the whole feel about the person. I don’t believe in first love. I think you like the person but you need to get to know the person.”