Gloria Estefan: Cuba won't be free until Fidel dead
By Herald wire services
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - Updated 9d 7h ago
Fidel may be gone, but not much will change until he's really, really
gone, said Latin superstar Gloria Estefan, who believes Castro must
croak before her native Cuba can be free.
"There is still a Castro in there," Estefan told the Track. "And I think
the status quo will not change until (Fidel) moves to the great beyond."
Estefan, the daughter of Cuban exiles - her dad was a political prisoner
after Castro's revolution - believes that Cuba's new president, Raul
Castro, "is a more open-minded guy" than his brother.
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"He lives a more capitalistic lifestyle," she said. "And he has been
somewhat more open with the press and allowing the students to speak up.
But the reality is that he won't do much until Fidel is gone."
Estefan, who is returning to the stage Memorial Day weekend to open the
MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods, has a new album "90 Millas" that is a
tribute to her native Cuba and its music.
"The music is one of the beautiful things that has survived the Castro
regime," she said. "I have played for audiences all over the world but
I've never played for a Cuban audience. For (husband) Emilio and me, the
music is the one tie to our homeland."
The Latin pop star said she is looking forward to returning to the stage
- she hasn't toured in four years - and to christening the 4,000-seat
theater at the Connecticut casino's new MGM Grand hotel.
The new venue is more than double the size of the current 1,400-seat Fox
Theatre and allows Foxwoods to compete for bigger acts with nearby
Mohegan Sun, which boasts a 10,000-seat arena.
"I'm excited," Estefan said. "I haven't seen my fans in a while and to
perform in a new state-of-the-art theater with great acoustics and in
intimate setting is going to be fun."
The multiple Grammy winner said she has lots of fans in the area -
dating back to the days when she opened for the New Kids on the Block at
the old Boston Garden.
A fixture in her adopted hometown of Miami, Gloria will travel north to
Boston a couple of weeks before her Foxwoods gig to give the closing
keynote address to more than 3,000 women at the Simmons School of
Management's annual Leader****p Conference.
"They want to hear about my experiences, the difficulties and what I've
learned along the way," she said. "Especially being an immigrant - which
is discussed so much these days - and having success and living the
American dream."
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