Legendary Latina diva Gloria Estefan sat down with NBC Latino for an revealing interview where she opened about her new album, "The Standards" -released on Sept. 10 -, her three decades musical career and the importance of giving back.
"I knew it was a matter of time before I did this," said the 56-year-old artist of her new album, which includes English versions of classics such as Tango singer Carlos Gardel's "El Día Que Me Quieras" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar."
"I was just waiting for the right musical idea, because I did not want to just go in and do a bunch of big band charts and sing it. I really wanted to bring something of myself to this. And two years ago, I sat at the piano with Shelly Berg, dean of the Frost School of Music at the Unversity of Miami, my alma mater, at a trustee dinner and we did "Good Morning Heartache" for the people there. You could hear a pin drop and he transported me. Sitting there with Shelley, I got the whole idea for this record. I wanted it to be very personal, very sexy and lush."
Estefan, who is one of Billboard Magazine's top 100 best-selling artists of all time, is also known for singing in different music styles. "It is because each one of these things is a part of who I am. I am not trying things on for size...I love music. I am very musical and I have it in my genes, so I guess that works, but it's who I am. I am not doing something that is completely weird or strange for me," said the singer.
The "Mi Tierra" singer and her husband, Emilio Estefan, like to be involved in several charitable causes. "I don't know if every artist has to give back -for me, it's a joy to give back. To be of service is the reason I feel I am in this world," said Estefan. I want to be of service as much as I can - it makes me happy to help other people and be useful in some way. Maybe it is a little selfish in some way but it really does make me feel good to do it. I think we are all connected and that all of us should help each other however we can, in our own way."