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  • Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical “On Your Feet!” Worthy of Exclamation Mark

    Gloria Estefan is celebrated in the broadway musical On Your Feet!, and the early reviews indicate the show is worthy of its title’s exclamation mark.

    The New York Post reports the musical “literally gets the audience off its seats and into a conga line.”

    Following Gloria Estefan through her days as a young Cuban-American in Florida, to her days performing in Miami Sound Machine, there are huge parts of On Your Feet! that are beyond cliche. The fast-paced script and the Latin beat make up for all that, however.

    Further adding to the Gloria Estefan musical is the presence of some of Miami Sound Machine’s original musicians in the brass section of the orchestra that gets the audience as pumped up as the performers.

    Josh Segarra and Ana Villafañe play Emilio and Gloria Estefan in On Your Feet! Gloria Estefan’s hit songs are peppered throughout the show, and include “Conga” and “Rhythm is Gonna Get You.”

    The show is based on the book of the same name, written by Birdman author Alexander Dinelaris.

    Fans can join in the celebration of Gloria Estefan’s music and life at the Marquis Theatre at 1535 Broadway.

    On Your Feet! opens November 6th.

  • Kathy Griffin Joins Pitbull, Whoopi Goldberg, and More in Emilio Estefan’s Music Video, ‘We’re All Mexican’

    Kathy Griffin joins an impressive celebrity list including Whoopi Goldberg, Pitbull, Eva Longoria, and more in a new music video produced by Emilio Estefan. Called “We’re All Mexican,” the video is part of Hispanic Heritage Week and celebrates the accomplishments of Latinos.

    “As immigrants, we have a love and appreciation for this country and for the freedom that it represents,” Estefan recently explained to Billboard magazine. “We need to lift up our pride and show the world all the great things we’re doing. I wrote and produced this song to communicate a message of uniting all immigrants, not dividing them.”

    While it’s obvious that Kathy Griffin isn’t Latino, she is in mixed company in the music video. People from all backgrounds are joining together to celebrate the Latino community.

    A description of Emilio Estefan’s music video says, “The title of the song,’We’re all Mexican’ is intended as a metaphor symbolizing that we can all become the victims of racism and bigotry at any moment as Mexicans are experiencing in recent times. Mexicans are being vilified in the United States by some of the media and political leaders and in some of the public’s sentiment because they comprise 67% of the Latino population and because their native country shares a direct border with the United States and are the majority of the ‘Latino’ crossing that particular border.

    But around the world, different immigrant groups are harassed and made to be scapegoats for the ills of their respective countries of residence. The song,’We’re All Mexicans,’ celebrates the positive contributions of immigrants in the United States as a balance to the negativity being expressed publicly.”

    In addition to Kathy Griffin, other celebrities in “We’re All Mexican” include Wyclef Jean, Chuy from The Chelsea Lately Show, and even Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo take part in the music video.

    Kathy Griffin served as host of Fashion Police for a couple of months following the death of Joan Rivers. She quit when the inner workings of the show revealed several issues.

    Kathy Griffin is a woman of many talents–but did you ever expect to see her in a music video?

    What do you suppose Donald Trump thinks of this new music video? Would he agree that “We’re All Mexican?”

  • Gloria Estefan’s On Your Feet To Premiere In Chicago

    It took quite a while but Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s On Your Feet is finally dancing its way to a world premiere in Chicago.

    On Your Feet showcases the life of the one and only Queen of Latin Pop and her relationship with her husband Emilio, 19-times Grammy winner and record producer extraordinaire.

    The musical will show audiences how their dedication to each other, their heritage and their pursuit of the American dream led to their remarkable success. It will cover Gloria’s early years with the Miami Sound Machine and her miraculous recovery from a broken back in 1990.

    Bringing On Your Feet to the stage is a feat in itself. It’s rare that a bilingual, Latino-centered musical is showcased and biographies are especially tricky.

    However, the couple is confident that they can pull it off and Emilio is certain that “Chicago’s gonna bring us a lot of good luck.”

    It’s a sentiment that Gloria believes in as well.

    “The audience is a wonderful nurturing audience but also they’re savvy in the way of theater so it’s a great place to try your stuff out,” the 57-year-old hitmaker said.

    As expected, Gloria’s hits will also play an essential part. Audiences will be treated to well-loved songs like “Conga,” “Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” “Don’t Want to Lose You Now” and the titular “Get On Your Feet.”

    While her hits will take center stage, Gloria won’t be.

    Instead, she’s leaving it to the very capable hands of Ana Villafane, who was discovered after a worldwide search for the lead.

    But who knows, Gloria said she might just “sneak in there and be my mom.”

    On Your Feet will open at Chicago’s Oriental Theater on June 2 and will run for five weeks. The musical will then be previewed on Broadway at the Marquis Theater on October 15 before beginning its official run on November 5.

  • Gloria Estefan Musical About Her Life Opening Soon

    Gloria Estefan was on top of the world in 1990. After a string of hits that catapulted her “Miami sound” to the top of the charts over and over again, she had become a household word.

    Then on March 20, 1990, a truck crashed into Gloria Estefan’s tour bus and it was rumored that she may never see the stage again.

    “They said I would never walk again – that the damage had been severe,” Gloria Estefan recalls now.

    Flash forward less than a year. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Gloria Estefan walked onstage at the American Music Awards in January of 1991, after an introduction by Jon Bon Jovi.

    Now that inspiring story has been made into a musical that opens in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre in two weeks.

    It is called “On Your Feet” after one of Gloria Estefan’s most enduring hits.

    The show was cast after an open casting call in Miami. Ana Villafane plays Gloria Estefan on stage in the musical. Josh Segarra plays Gloria’s husband, manager, and partner Emilio Estefan.

    “In essence, it’s kind of the description of our lives,” Gloria Estefan says of the musical. “We’ve had to continuously get on our feet. From leaving our country – he went to Spain then he came here, I came at the age of 2.”

    Telling her story in the form of a musical is somewhat of a risk for Gloria Estefan. When the now-popular TV show Duck Dynasty tried its hand in musical theatre recently, the show closed in under a month.

    “The audience is a wonderful nurturing audience but also they’re savvy in the way of theater so it’s a great place to try your stuff out,” Gloria Estefan said of opening at the Oriental Theatre.

    “I think Chicago’s gonna bring us a lot of good luck,” Emilio Estefan said.

    Gloria Estefan says the show has a positive message.

    “If there’s one thing people take from this play when they leave, it’s that they realize you can have the best life in the world. You’re still going to get thrown hurdles and curve balls and it’s all about how you deal with them and what you do.

    “And you get back on your feet every single time. Because that’s what life’s about.”