Gloria Estefan Talks New Album ‘Raíces,’ The Pope, Immigration & More | Billboard News In Conversation

Gloria Estefan is about to release her first Spanish album in 18 years, ‘Raíces’. She sits down to talk about how the album was created with her husband, Emilio, dedicating a song to her grandson, her opinions on the new Pope, her thoughts on immigration issues in the U.S., and more.

Are you excited for Gloria Estefan’s new album? Let us know in the comments!

Gloria Estefan:

Hi I’m Gloria Estefan, and welcome to Billboard Latin!

Sigal Ratner-Arias:

Congratulations on ‘Raíces,’ your 30th album in 50 years, and the first in Spanish in 18 years. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate your anniversary. Was it important for you to make an album in your native language?

Absolutely, I wanted to return full circle. Emilio didn’t even notice that it was my 50 years and I told him when he came to me with the idea of  “Raíces,” and when I wrote the song, he said “I want you to sing it.” In that moment, I was super focused on ‘Basura,’ the musical. So I told him, “Babe, I can’t. I can’t change my mind for this, but I would like to create a new album that’s tropical in Spanish.” And he tells me, “Do you trust me?” And I go, “Who else am I going to trust more than you?”  

The title obviously explains what it is. “Mi Tierra” was an homage to Cuba. What is “Raíces” for you? 

Well we picked “Raíces” as the title because roots are also in the land. It’s like a modern “Mi Tierra” because when we had the concept to do the album for ‘Mi Tierra,’ we wanted to highlight an era of Cuban music that was really rich that was celebrated all throughout the world before BC. Before Castro. 

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