Biography of Gloria Estefan

Long before Ricky Martin or Jennifer Lopez topped the charts, Estefan was infusing Latin American rhythms into pop music with over 50 platinum-selling albums and the support of worldwide fans. After her career was jeopardized by a tragic bus accident, she exhibited irrepressible energy and endurance as she returned to music with the double-platinum album, Into the Light.

In an industry increasingly dominated by disposable artists and short-term careers, Gloria Estefan continues to thrive and firmly command the ardent praise of fans worldwide. With the release of Greatest Hits, Volume 2, she ascends to a rarified plateau that affirms her status as one of pop music's true and enduring originals.

In addition to providing diehard fans with a nicely woven collection of Estefan's best-loved English-language hits from the past nine years, Greatest Hits, Volume 2 also effectively illuminates the most creatively plush period of the artist's career to date. It also leaves the listener appropriately enthusiastic about the next phase of Gloria's musical career, thanks to the inclusion of the three sterling new tunes: You Can't Walk Away From Love, Out Of Nowhere, and I Got No Love.

At the heart of Greatest Hits, Volume 2 are tunes that draw on Estefan's Cuban heritage. Although the last nine years have seen the artist record three hugely successful Latin albums (1993's landmark Mi Tierra, 1995's Abriendo Puertas, and 2000's Alma Caribeña), she's become increasingly cognizant of infusing Cuban elements into her English-language pop material. You'll Be Mine (Party Time), If We Were Lovers, I'm Not Giving You Up, and Oye all deftly pay homage to the artist's homeland in a way that's also warmly inclusive of American pop music.

"Music should always be a means of bridging gaps and uniting people," she says. "The beauty of music is that it can -- and should -- gather a wide variety of concepts in a way that's universal."

Gloria has carried that philosophy into music that is designed to fully mainstream. 1998's Heaven's What I Feel is a dance bauble that the singer says was intended to "capture the energy of the disco era, when people of all types would gather to dance. It's a tribalistic ritual that continues to this day, and it's one that I'm so completely in tune with."