Q&A: GLORIA ESTEFAN

Last month Gloria Estefan unwrapped �Unwrapped,� her first album in six years, which she describes as a �musical picture book of my experiences up to this point.� This week she�s filling in for Celine Dion�s gig in Vegas. All that work just to get to talk to NEWSWEEK�s Vanessa Juarez?
This is a little intimidating. I mean, you�re a diva.
[Laughs] I�m the anti-diva. I am, I am. I even have a T shirt printed that says ANTI-DIVA. I find that word kind of funny. To me a diva is really callous, you know, throwing plates around, yanking people�s hair.
You�ve been on hiatus. Is this you �coming out of�... not necessarily �the dark,� but�
The shadows. [Laughs] The main reason was my daughter. I was set to go out on tour in 2000 and she was set to start preschool. I thought, �Oh, boy, if I take her on the road, by the time she gets back into school she�ll be coming in the odd one out.� So I go, �Do I really want this for her? Do I really want this for me? I�ve worked really hard and I�m going to take the time.� I took her to school every day, I sat in tae kwon do classes and she would watch me through the mirror to make sure I was watching every move. I enjoyed so much being a mommy.
Your son, Nayib, who directed the DVD that comes with your album, is 23 and handsome. Is he single?
You looking?
Yeah, could you put a good word in for me?
[Laughs] Definitely.
Would you do a show in Cuba?
In a free Cuba, most definitely. That is the one dream really, professionally. Hopefully I won�t be too old to do it. [Laughs] Hopefully I won�t be in a wheelchair, wheeling around the streets of Havana. Who knows with this guy? Not in a communist Cuba, because first of all, they wouldn�t let me in.
Last night I was listening to �Unwrapped.� I fell asleep and I think I dreamt about you singing, and then in the morning, I turned on the �Today� show and they were playing �Turn the Beat Around,� and I was like�
�Oh, my God, I�m being bombarded�? You�re on Gloria overload. Chill out.

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