Disco de Gloria Estefan: “Mi Tierra”

This is the sound of a brilliant career reaching its apex. Unless Gloria Estefan surprises us with a turn no one could anticipate, MI TIERRA will go down as the best music she ever produced.

That's no small statement, since Ms. Estefan has been wowing fans with one top-selling album after another from back in the days of the Miami Sound Machine.

I first came to know Gloria as a Latin singer while I was living in Latin America. Only subsequently did I become fully exposed to her English-language pop persona. Though Gloria was only two when her family emigrated to the US from Cuba and is therefore fully bilingual and bicultural, my opinion has always been that she excels when performing in Spanish.

MI TIERRA may well prove the point.

Backed up by rhythm and sound of astonishing consistency, Gloria sings a dozen winners (that's twelve out of twelve) on this CD despite some daring and unconventional moves ('Montuno' and 'Tradición').

Surprisingly, her opening gambit ('Con los años que me quedan') got the lion's share of this album's air time in spite of it not being the strongest piece of the puzzle. The gem among the dozen is 'Mi Tierra', which I believe to be the most poignant musical statement of the emigrant's dilemma ever peformed. There is a moment in this song when, amidst the nostalgic description of old Habana's streets and alleys, Ms. Estefan asks, 'Can I ever go back there? ... *Yo no sé*' (= 'I don't know'). The three-syllable staccato of her ambiguous reply touches every emigrant's secret knowledge that you can never truly go back to where you came from. Her unexpected response to a self-posed question leaps out and grabs you by the throat. It is one of Gloria's finest moments and a hypothetical pickle that events in her native land may soon give her an opportunity to confirm or refute.

'No hay mal que por bien no venga' projects the Latin American spunk and survivability that make it a region to grow old in with a smile.

Estefan has never had the pure horsepower of Latin stalwarts like, say, the late Celia Cruz. But whatever she has lacked in natural talent has been more than compensated by the class, consistency, and good public citizenship that she has exercised now into the stage of mature motherhood.

I hope she exceeds MI TIERRA. But I can't imagine it happening.

Out of the two spanish albums I have of Gloria this has got to be my favorite because she shows us a side of her we have never heard before what I mean is that she is going back to her roots singing in spanish. Being a Puerto Rican myself and after reading the liner notes inside I understand why it is so important to be a latino. The reason I love this cd is because of the great songs like Mi Tierra, Montuno, Hablemos El Mismo Idioma and Tradicion. So if you are in the mood for old time latin music then this cd is for you.

My family is cuban and this album is one of our greatest treasures. It is THE staple in our respective collections. Each one of us (5) has a copy in our homes and we regularly give it as a gift to anyone who may appreciate the Cuban culture. It embodies the Cuban experience and fills your home or car with joy and rhythym. I never get tired listening to it. From beginning to end, while listening to this album, your spirits will be lifted and you'll find yourself singing or dancing along with the music.

Even more than artists like Celia Cruz, Estefan has popularized Cuban music and brought it into the mainstream. This is a well thought out album with many good songs, only a few fillers and a great beat. My only complaint, and I'm not trying to insult Estefan, is that there are other singers out there with a much better dynamic range (Celia Cruz, to name a big one). Still, you have to give her credit for boosting Cuban music sales and for doing a very solid job interpreting many classics and new works.

¡Mi corazón y alma canta con este CD -- y así que voluntad el tuyo! (My heart and soul sings with this CD -- and so will yours!) Okay, so you can't read spanish -- I am pretty bad myself. But whether or not you know Spanish doesn't matter when it comes to this CD. You'll LOVE it. It is one of those rare CD's that I play over and over and over and over again without realizing it. It lifts my spirits, moves my feet and makes me dance!

MI TIERRA is not only a Grammy winner, it is a masterpiece. I have always loved Gloria Estefan (and the Miami Sound Machine) so this was a natural selection for me. All the cuts are great and it is hard to pick my favorites but definately Mi Tierra (my land or homeland), No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga (Out of all bad some good things come), Si Senior (Yes, sir its my s-o-n [an Afro-Cuban rhythm]) and Montuno (Montuno --another Afro-Cuban rhythm) top the list. The arrangements and the musicians on this CD are spectacular.

If you are interested (or even care) there are English translations included within the CD jacket. If you are looking for a change and a CD that you'll never tire of -- try this one. All I can say is, "Cante Gloria cantan. No puedo conseguir bastantes." (Sing Gloria sing. I can't get enough.)