Gloria estefan quotes

The separation of families to me is very close to my heart because we lived that as immigrants. I strongly feel that we all connected, and having felt people's love and support first-hand through difficult moments in my life, makes me feel it's our responsibility to help one another. I am privileged to help in some way, and I will always take that opportunity.

I think the business of music has really taken a huge hit. There's no doubt about it. But an artist is always going to produce their art, their music. They're going to paint, they're going to write.

Everything's funny for God's sake. Everything.

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.

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.

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

The last thing I wanted to do was put politics into my music... because music was my escape.

We do have the power to save one another...

My mother had a beautiful, soothing voice that made me melt.

Music is almost mystical to me. It really has an incredibly powerful force.

I have a very open line of communication with both my children.

I'd love to have a program like 'Dr. Laura.' I studied psychology at the University of Miami, and when I rode the bus home from school, perfect strangers would strike up conversations with me and end up telling me their life stories. I think they could sense that I was studying to help people. That, or I have a face like a priest.

When you are happy it is harder to write [songs].

Neither. I did not bring my crown, and the last thing I would want to do is get into politics.

I bit down three nails rooting for the Heat.

It is so important for me to keep authentic Cuban sounds alive. All of these great artists have changed the landscape of Latin music and it's an honor to have them on this album ["90 Millas," released in September of 2007]. I believe this album will expose a new generation to the richness of Cuban music.

I think we should all live the moment. But you also have to think ahead. You have to think, 'Am I going to be happy with this five, ten years from now? Is it going to let me evolve and grow, or am I going to grow to one day wish I had never done it?' Sometimes you just have to think a little bit ahead.

How can we expect something positive to come from all the negative that we put into this world?

I have had a life in which I have had to face every big fear, and it has not been pleasant.

I've been offered a lot of things that celebrities do that I wouldn't do, like perfumes, lines of clothing and this, that and the other.

There is nothing better than humor to keep a marriage going.

[My first children's book] is very subliminal, let's put it that way. It even has a bit of a metaphysical little message in there [about how] we're all somehow connected and we all have a responsibility toward each other. Although you may feel alone in the world, you definitely are not.

The library takes me away from my everyday life and allows me to see other places and learn to understand other people unlike myself.

My mum had a very strong moral code, which I kind of came with. I never really had to be told what was right or wrong - I knew. I was very mature from early on and I was a very good girl, so she never had any trouble with me.

I was going to be a doctor, but I think my music allowed me to help more people than I could have done one-on-one as a psychologist. Just like other people's music really helped me.

I make the best pancakes you'll ever have! And I claim that title gladly. On Saturdays I make them for everybody.

Everything that an artist does is a risk. Some people want you to stay the same. If you want to evolve, they want to keep you in a certain place.

We seal our fate with the choices we take, but don't give a second thought to the chances we take.

My favorite process is writing, from day one. The songs I have written throughout the years were a real great opportunity for me to communicate, because I think tha'ts my prime objective on this planet.

I love Gershwin. I love musicals.

Motherhood is... difficult and... rewarding.

As an entertainer, my job is to help people have fun.

[My mother] closed the school the next day [after a visit from Castro's soldiers], because she knew that the purpose of education was the broadening and opening of children's minds. And she couldn't be a party to the systematic closing of minds, borders, freedoms and ideals.

My daughter is almost a young lady. She's going to be 10 years old in December and I want to be there day-in and day-out.

As an artist, you dream about accumulating enough successful music to someday do just one greatest-hits album, but to reach the point where you're releasing your second collection of hits is beyond belief.

To know that everything we say and do to this new little human being may have a profound effect on him or her is a daunting obligation.

You can put things off until tomorrow but tomorrow may never come.

Toys are not a need people typically think of, but they've got all these kids who have absolutely nothing to do.

I'd like them to see that those things that set us apart or make us different can be wonderful contributions to the world around us. I'd like them to see that size and color are irrelevant to the dreams we envision for ourselves. And I'd also love for them to see that life is a journey, and every step of the way, we can learn something and become stronger and wiser.

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?

You don't have to give up who you are to be successful just because you're different.

You've got to believe. Never be afraid to dream.

There's some people that are 24 hours with the baby and it doesn't make a difference. They could be anywhere.

If the 70's freed our inhibitions, what good did it do?

The most beautiful thing about music is that it transcends most anything.

When I write a song it's always from the point of view: makes the song the best it can be.

Performing is one of the best feelings I know!

I think it's important to have a happy parent.

My family was musical on both sides. My father’s family had a famous flautist and a classical pianist. My mother won a contest to be Shirley Temple’s double — she was the diva of the family. At 8, I learned how to play guitar. I used to play songs from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s in the kitchen for my grandmother.

I was going to study at the Sorbonne and become a diplomat. Being a diplomat comes in handy when you are dealing with record companies.

[As of November 17, 2006] 'Noelle's Treasure Tale' has remained at No. 3 on the New York Times children's best seller list since its October 10 release.

Love is a constant source of inspiration, surprise, and wonderment.

I'm careful what I put out there into the universe, musically. I don't take it lightly.

When I was a teenager, I was fat. I was shy. I wore glasses. I had a big eyebrow and hair all over my body. They were years of torture.

Once you know the Romance languages, singing in those languages is so sexy and sensual. I do have a global audience, so why not?

A woman's exterior beauty is a reflection of her internal peace and happiness.

My Conga people [fans] will find me anywhere I go.

I only used my whole life one perfume, and it's Cartier's Les Must.

Later in life, the memories I have of my mother are of constant work balanced with caring for my ailing father.

I wrote poetry, which got me into lyrics. Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John pulled me into pop. I started singing with a band - just for fun - when I was 17. And pretty soon, I was thinking I could sing pop in English as well as Spanish.

I am trying to teach my children to feel a responsibility for their fellow human beings and a sense of connection with ... the world around them.

If you discover a word in my book that you don't understand, ask your parents so they can look it up in the dictionary for you.

I've got nine dogs, eight birds, turtles, fish and I had wallabies at one point.

I'm very comfortable in my own skin now. I started just being myself more and more. For women, this happens as you get older. I loved my 40s - I thought they were fantastic. And I'm loving my 50s. I'm going to love everything because you're either older or dead!

The sad truth is that opportunity doesn't knock twice.

I'm very excited about this wonderful opportunity to take part in the evolution of a company that is integral to the Hispanic community and a powerful force in all areas of the media.

Whatever it is your heart desires, please go for it, it's yours to have.

Make sure everything you do you really like, because you have to sing it the rest of your life.

I hold 'Mi Tierra,' my first Spanish-language album, very close to me because that was all done in my native tongue and won me my first Grammy.

It's crucial with today's challenges that our children feel they have a source of information they can trust in their parents.

Family has always been the number one priority no matter what happens anywhere else.

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

It's important to me that the words that I put out there into the cosmos, into the universe, be empowering or somehow positive for people that hear them, or maybe be cathartic if someone is having a relationship that's having a tough time.

The part of my education that has had the deepest influence wasn't any particular essay or even a specific class, it was how I was able to apply everything I learned in the library to certain situations in my life. . . The library takes me away from my everyday life and allows me to see other places and learn to understand other people unlike myself.

Love you all the time, 'cause when I close my eyes, I still can see your smile, it's bright enough to light my life

My mom was definitely very strict with me.

The responsibility of carrying and bringing a new life into this world is one that cannot be taken lightly.

There are certain realities we must speak of with our children that were not present when I was a child.

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.

There's no reason that just because you're a celebrity you can't write.

The sad truth is that opportunity doesn't knock twice. You can put things off until tomorrow but tomorrow may never come. Where will you be a few years down the line. Will it be everything you dreamed of. We seal our fate with the choices we take, but don't give a second thought to the chances we take.

The Internet has been a blessing and a curse. The curse we know: A lot of people appropriating your intellectual property without paying for it. But I think it's important to realize the blessing of the Internet, which is that everybody has a voice and you can break through, even without a record company.

We kiss and hug our kids a lot! And even now when our son lives 3,000 miles away, we talk every day, sometimes several times.

A parent that's upset or resentful is not going to be a great paren.

I spent 15 years on the road between touring and recording and I never saw anything. I want to enjoy life.

[I would like to be] one of [the first pop singers to perform in a free Cuba]. I know the list is huge. And it would be hard to pull off -- I'd have a lump as big as a tostone [fried green plantain] in my throat. But oh my God, what a dream -- it would be the height of my personal and professional career.

Getting this caliber of musicians together [for "90 Millas" CD in September of 2007] is almost impossible to do again.

You never know what life has in store for you, but I believe there are certain things one is meant to go through

There are so many difficult things we're living through in the world today, so many horrible events, but we cannot let them stop us. No matter what happens, I feel you must move forward with optimism and not get totally sideswiped.

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

She [then nine-year-old daughter Emily] grew up with 'The Rhythm is Gonna Get You,' Well . . . It got her!

You want your fans to like what you do, because it's coming from your heart and soul. You write it, you produce this thing. It's like your baby.

I think that the only way to teach is by example, as children will more easily follow what they see you do than what you tell them to do.

My mom was an amazing singer and music was a big part of my life, so I grew up listening to Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini; I used to watch 'The Andy Williams Show' on TV. I was very musical, so I was watching stuff that most kids my age wouldn't be interested in.

I stare to memorize your face, to kiss you in my mind, love you all the time.

My grandmother would shanghai pilots at the Havana airport so they'd bring me cartons of mango baby food - the only kind I'd eat. I learned to eat peach later. And in every carton, she'd slip a Cuban record.

If there's ever been a dark moment in my life... well, I wanted to check out. Music was a big escape.

Of course in Miami, not denouncing Fidel Castro at every turn is almost as bad as saying Gloria Estefan can't sing.

All I tell artists is, 'Do what you love. Never let anybody talk you into changing what your musical idea is just to try to get a hit, because you're chasing your tail that way. It's not going to happen, and if you're successful, you have to do it the rest of your life. Stay true to it and do it for the sake of the art.'

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.

We seal our fate with the choices we make.

It's not so much for me where you come from, who you are, what race you are. We're just human beings that are still a work in progress and there's a lot that we've got to overcome, so that we can all be equal.

The reason I’m not more political is because I have music. And from a young age, I needed it. After prison, my father came to America, joined the Army, fought in Vietnam - and was exposed to Agent Orange. He died a slow, horrible death. Music was my escape.

More than anything I want to be able to go back to Cuba, to have a house to visit there, to know my roots. Then, at last, I could sing for my people.

My guitar and singing was my way of crying.

I have great genes. Thank you to my mom and dad for that one.

We must feel the pain before the pleasure, only then can we tell them apart.

I have a twenty-month-old baby, a sixteen-year-old boy - same maturity level.

She's an amazing dog and really inspired everything that's in this book.

Being Latin parents makes us extremely expressive with our affections.

Stevie Wonder always smells so good... I'm like a DEA dog, I can smell people a block away!

One of the most beautiful things we can give our child is music education.

We protect aspirin bottles in this country better than we protect guns from accidents by children.

I majored in Psychology in college. I was going to be a child psychologist.

I wrote these two songs ["Coming Out of the Dark" and "Always Tomorrow"] as a celebration of hope. And I want to send it out to all of those people who are suffering through this terrible disaster [Hurricane Katrina], and please know that you are not alone - and you will not be.

Music has been one of the most beautiful things in my life and will always be a very big part of who I am and what I do.

I'm a writer and this is what I love to do.

I don't want anything from Cuba. I want them to be free and enjoy the things I enjoy.

The secret of a long marriage is shaving your legs every day . . . because it shows you still care.

There are so many beautiful things that are a part of the world, and Ive always looked at life that way; Ive always tried to put on a smile and a brave front, not just for my kids but in my own life and all the difficulties that Ive gone through.

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.

Those of you who speak only English, applaud [audience applause]. Those of you who speak only Spanish, applaud [audience applause]. [In mock incredulity] Then how do you know what I just said?

Having felt people's love and support first hand through difficult moments in my life makes me feel it's our responsibility to help one another.

My inspirations include the Beatles - love, love, love them - Elton John, Carole King, and Stevie Wonder.

A lot of the way I sing is playing off other musicians. It's what I love to do the most.