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EMILIO ESTEFAN: THE BILLBOARD INTERVIEW by John Lannert Over the past 20 years, Emilio Estefan jr has made quite a name for himself as the entrepreneur who heads up Estefan Enterprises, Inc. Besides managing the career of his superstar wife Gloria - with whom he developed their singolar Latin/pop sound - Emilio has successfully delved into all segments of the music industry, ranging from production to publishing. Among the artists for whom he has produced hit albums are bilingual pop star Jon Secada and Mexican singing idols Alejandro Fernandes and Thalia. Emilio also is getting involved with film and television, having signed a $10 million deal last year with Universal Television group to develop Latino-rooted sitcoms. Apart from his entertainment ventures, Emilio has become involved in two prosperous restaurants (Larios On The Beach, Bongo's) and the Cardozo Hotel, where portions of the movie "Something about Mary" were filmed. But, his impressive resume aside, if you want to catch Emilio in action during a typical work day, make sure you bring a camera with a slow-motion feature. It's the only way to keep up with the renowned impresario as he darts from project to project. A typical day at offices of Crescent Moon Studios finds him bouncing from studio to studio, penning a lyric here for a Colombian singing star Shakira, adjusting the sound blend there for a Latinized remix of a Lenny Kravitz tune. In between is a radio interview he has arranged with his wife, who drops by the office to contribute - along with Emilio - an impromptu finger painting that will be auctioned at a fundraising event in Mexico. Later in the day, Emilio can be found adjusting the lighting at a video shoot for Carlos Ponce, a new, hot-shot singer who recently reached the top of Hot Latin Tracks with his first single, "Rezo". Throughout the day Emilio is unfailingly patient and polite as he sprinkles playful, humourous barbs into more serious conversation, running from the bluprints for his company's new headquarters to a schedule meeting with Ana Gabriel, Mexico famed singer/songwriter whose upcoming CD he is currently producing. Emilio recently discussed his storied career and future aspirations in this Billboard Interview. The conversation took place over the course of several of Emilio's morning constitutionals - which, of course, he took with his usual alacrity. Did you ever imagine, 20 years ago, that you would be taking a morning walk along the beach as the head of a music empire? No. Who knew? When I first started going to Sony, I used to ride a bike because I didn't have enough money for gas. Then I became president of Sony's artist-and-development, and now I have my own label. It's about respect and hard work. Do you know how hard is to go from being a musician to a producer to a writer? It's a big transition. And the only way you do it is to prove yourself, which earns you a lot of respect. You know, I believe a lot in destiny. The main thing for me now is that I love what I'm doing. I love to make music and to create. The second thing is that I'm so happy that I'm healthy. But did you think you would reach this fantastic level of success when you first started out in the music business? No, no. I did it because I've loved music all my life. The first instrument I got was when I was 12; I got an accordion. I wanted to be a musician, no matter what. My older brother José was an engineer, so I was the black sheep of the family; everybody was saying "Oh my God, this guy is going to be a musician!" Did you have a band in high school? Oh yeah, in Cuba, and then I moved here and I started playing restaurants for tips. Then I used to work at Bacardi as an office boy, and then one guy from Bacardi, who I grew up with, told me they were throwing a big party for one of the owners and they were looking for a small band, so maybe I could come with an accordion and another two guys. So I got a conga player and an accordion and a guitar, and we played all night, and they danced all night. And then I started getting calls from everybody to book private parties. What kind of music did you play? I played more Latino music than anything else... a lot of old music from Cuba. What year was this? 1974. I left Cuba when I was 13 to go to Spain. I lived a year-and-a-half in Spain, and then I came here. The first thing that I did - there were 14 kids at my aunt's house - was to buy an accordion and a guitar, but we didn't have the money. I went with my uncle to a piano to buy an accordion, and it cost $474. My uncle said "We are going to have to finance and you are going to have to pay", and I said "Yes, I'll pay". So what I did was I went to an italian restaurant only for tips - sometimes I made $2 or $20 and sometimes nothing. I used to go to Bacardi in the morning and work till 4.30, then go to night school and then go to the restaurant every day. And, on week-ends, I used to go to weddings and bar mitzvahs. Who taught you how to play? I taught myself by ear. I didn't have any money for lessons, and I didn't know anything about music. But I think with music sometimes it's more important when it comes from the heart. I know a lot of musicians who are incredible and they read perfect, and you ask them to play "Happy birthday" and they can't change their feeling. So, music sometimes music has to have feeling. Like when I write songs... I cannot write a song that takes more than two weeks. You like to try to do it as spontaneouslyy as possible. Definitely. If I feel it, I feel it. When did you form Miami Latin Boys? In 1974. Then when Gloria came to the band in 1976, I changed the name to Miami Sound Machine. And the reason I chose Miami Sound Machine was because I knew there was going to be (the) sound of Cuban immigrants coming to this country from both cultures. At home, we used to listen to Celia Cruz and Chacao - all of the Cuban music - and at the same time we grew up with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Motown. So there was this confusion. But, as far as the Miami sound was concerned, it seemed that you, Carlos Oliva and Willy Chirino were arriving at the same sort of music simultaneously. Carlos and Willy started the whole thing, but it was always more Latin music; they never did English like I did. They never did anythign like "Conga". But we all started together, and my first album was through Carlos. He was the best man at my wedding. They are both talented. So, from 1976 to 1985, the band was playing all kinds of shows. We used to do all of the benefits in Miami. And, during that time, we cut two albums with local companies. And we never got paid. We tried to get a release, and they wouldn't do it. So Gloria and I created our own small label, and we got a loan and made the album "Foreign Imported". When the album was ready to go out (Miami distributor) Reyes Records gave me $3,000 to print the record, as a loan. I'll never forget that. Enrique (Reyes) was so great to me,and he gave me the money. When the album was ready to go out, I got a call from Sony Discos (then CBS Discos), and they said, "We're interested". I said the only way we would do it is to have control to record whatever we want to do. We want albums half in English and half in Spanish, because it is a mixture of what we have and what we are. We wanted to do a fusion. So you were looking at crossover prospects from the beginning. I wasn't thinking about a market, I just wanted to do what we were. That was our sound. On the second album, I wanted to do something else, and we recorded "Dr. Beat". So, I went to Sony and they said, "this is never going to happen, and we don't want to release it". I said "Put it on the B-side of a single called "Lucharé". So we went to every disco in Miami to give the album out. Three weeks later, it was No. 1 here, and four weeks later it was No. 1 in england in all the clubs. England is calling Miami to find this group because they wanted to sign the group. So we went to Holland to do a promotion, and we only knew two songs - "Dr. Beat" and "I need a man". People wanted to hear more and more, and I told Gloria we need to play Cuban congas - that's what we are; maybe they'll throw us out of here or they'll like it - the place went wild. So, Gloria was the one to tell me that, if we are going to be successfull, we have to have our sound; we cannot be imitating anybody. We went to Holland and to England, and Kiki garcia, who was with the band, started writing the chorus for "Conga". Gloria changed the lyrics, and when we came to Miami we recorded the song. I called (Sony in) New York, and they said they didn't think it was going to happen. I said "You have to release it,and I will take the responsability. If it is a hit, it's my problem; if it is a failure, it's my problem". They released the song and, while we were in Mexico doing a movie, we got a call and the song had become huge. At this point, you were jointly signed Epic and Sony Discos? Yes, after the first single, I said I wanted to go with "Bad Boys" and they said, "No, we should go with another 'Conga' - type song", and I said, "No." They released it and it did well, and then, for the third single, I wanted a ballad, "Words Get In The Way", and they said, "Are you crazy? You have the dance market in your hands!" I played it for the president of Sony Discos, and he said, "It will never happen in U.S." - and it became huge in the A/C market. Then we came with the second album "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You". For the fourth single I wanted "Anything for you", and they released it. We were flying to South Korea to play the Olympics, and on the way we were waiting, because it was like No. 3 on the charts and it had a chance to go No. 1. When we arrived, the Koreans were waiting with flowers and sign that said "You're No.1". We made so much noise in the airport. It was our first No. 1! Was putting Gloria out front natural evolution of Miami Sound Machine? We knew that Gloria was upfront at that time. [Bandmate] Marcos (D'Avila) and I were leaving the band. My son Nayib didn't want to travel so much, and I told Gloria, "You have to continue, and I will fly to the weekend shows". We were travelling all over in one bus with 28 people. And what we learned from those trips is that people are so real and that everybody has the same heart. As long as you play music that touches somebody'e heart, that is when you are going to come across. Had you decided to start Estefan Enterprises during the late '80s? No. I always liked to write music, and what Gloria and I wanted to do was build our own studio, to write and have our own team of people to write. Then the guys in the band who would be off, like Jorge (Casas) and Clay (Ostwald), instead of working with somebody else, they would be hanging around with us; we got along so great. After 20 years, we are like family. Then we got the building. We used to work in my mom's garage. You still worked in your mom's garage after Miami Sound Machine started getting popular? Yes, and that is what I tell teenager - it is always great to go through rough times in our lives, because people who make it overnight never appreciate it. Nor do people who do not like to give autographs, do not like to say "Thank you" to everybody, people who don't like to share success with radio and press - I mean, sometimes you spend more time with the press than you spend with your own family. Your relationship with the media has been priority, hasn't it? Yes, but when I don't like something, I will tell them in the media. But the media has been great to us, and you cannt buy the kind of love we have gotten from the media, from public. Since the beginnig, you and Gloria have been very media-friendly. I tell you why. When you're having a rough time in your life making it, and you get one interview, you really appreciate it. We were Latino immigrants in this country; we don't take anything for granted. But the media has been extremely kind to Gloria. And, as Gloria got more popular, so did your responsabilities. I used to do everything - accounting, photographs, publishing - because we didn't have money to hire someone. Just administering the publishing was big. I told Gloria we should have our own publishing company. That is the real reason we became our own publishers. We are now handled by BMI. (BMI CEO/president) Frances Preston paid so much attention to us and was great to us from the beginning. I have loyalty toward her. Loyalty counts a lot for you, doesn't it? Oh yes. And I am thankful. I never expected to have what I have. Gloria is alive and is walking, the best pruduction in my life is our kids. I have a beautiful home, but I can be just happy on the ocean. I am well-grounded. I see so many people with so much money who are unhappy and I think, "Why?". When did you start moving into producting? Well, I bought the studio, Crescent Moon, and it became a hanging-out place for all of the musicians. The first one who came was Jon Secada. I knew about Jon, and Jorge Casas said he sang great and was a great guy, and he came to see me, and I said "Jon, I love your voice, let's try to make a demo". And I listened to 20 demos and I dindn't like it, and I said, "We'll try it another day. R&B with latino is what is going to happen to you now". He wrote his own music, and he asked me to manage him and now he is like family - he is like my brother. I took (his demos) to Sony, and the guy said, "We have to many artists now, we have to pass". I called (EMI'S then A&R director) Nancy Brennan - she used to do my publishing - and I said, "I have a kid", and they signed him. Producing was a natural thing. The Crescent Moon deal was in 1994? Yes. That deal is over now. I remember Tommy Mottola told me to go after the Cuban sound. So I signed Cachao and Albita, and, when I signed Cachao, I told Mottola I signed an artist, and he said "Oh really? Is he good-looking?" I said "Not really". Then Tommy asked me, "Is he a young guy?". "No", I said. "He is 80-something years old". "Can he tour?" Tommy asked. "No", I said. (Pauses and starts laughing). "But he is the best Cuban musician we have in the States; there is no one better than this guy". Andy Garcia helped out with the first album, and I was so happy when he got a Grammy nomination with this album, and we won a Grammy, I signed Albita, and her albums have been nominated. How do you choose which artists and writers to work at Estefan Enterprises? From my heart. They can make money with me. They become part of the company. We split everything 50/50; we go partners. So Estefan Enterprises takes off after the "Into The Light" tour in 1991? Yes, but again, it was not planned. It just happened naturally. As I said, I believe in destiny. I don't think when you immediately plan something like "I am going to be a good producer" it is going to happen. Or "I am going to write a song..." it doesn't happen. What we have done is: I have gone against all odds in my career, from Gloria to Jon Secada to Cachao to Albita to Alejandro Fernandez, whose sound I changed. I take a lot of pride in making a record sound good, and you have to take chances. That is what I like about (Sony CEO/president) Tommy (Mottola). He has been in the business as a manager of (Dr. Buzzard's Original) Savannah Band and Hall&Oates. He know what it is to take chances and is thinking ahead. He knows there is a Miami sound here, and he wants to put money in it. Do you feel you have put together a Latin Motown, or is it even more than that? We have developed an incredible company, and we can do even better than labels sometimes, because we have our freedom. I do not tell people exactly what they have to do. I let people create, and we have such a mix of people - Jewish, Italian, Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Anglo - we grow together and we get along great. I can do anything with group - I can do rock for example. But people think of you as a major producer primarily in the Latino market, because of your great success with Thalia, Alejandro Fernandez and Carlos Ponce - and you have Gloria on the Anglo side. And Jon Secada with the crossover And Jon Secada. But, in the last couple of years, you have been doing so well in the Latin market, perhaps that is where this perception is coming from. And that is true. But we can do anything. Larry (Dermer) can write R&B. He wrote "Don't release me" on the "gloria!" album. My company is not the only me by myself; it is 100 people writing and producing. We go from dance to R&B to rock. We are working now with Betty Wright for the R&B market. Still, you have been an inspiration to a lot of Latinos. And that makes me proud, because I never expected to do that. But, if I can be a role model for a lot of the kids, it's important, because they need role models. We don't have a lot of role models. There have been only a few of us Latinos who have done the crossover thing, and if that inspires just one kid, that is enough for me. Are Latinos getting enough recognition for what they are contributing, musically? There is a lot of discrimination still, but the music market is opening more and more, particularly at the radio stations, because they are realizing that, if they play a Latin song on the radio, people will ask for it, and I am talking about Anglos, not Latinos. I saw that with "Mi Tierra"; it was Anglos, not Latinos, who bought the album. I tip my hat to (NARAS president/CEO) Mike Greene, who put Gloria on the Grammy show to sing "Mi Tierra", because he took a big chance. I tip my hat to Tommy, who said, "if you can go and do a Spanish album, we will release it worldwide". But all of this could have happened with R&B or reggae, not just Latin... It's just that people want to hear new stuff. What is your biggest professional accomplishment? I never forgot where I came from, and nobody could tweak my sound, saying it would never work. One thing I want to be remembered for this is that I did positive things for the Latino world. There must be a dozen or so Anglo labels involved in cuban music. Do you have any plans to work with cuban artists? No. To us, it is too close. We know the real truth about Cuba that most people don't know. I wish them the best. But we will never sign a Cuban group until Castro is out of power. What do you think about Cuban groups performing in the US? This is a free country, and I think people who are against the shows should protest. I would never go see a Cuban group here in Miami, because I know the truth of what happened in Cuba. I don't think we should mix music and politics, but we have a very strong feeling about having nothing to do with Castro because so many people have died. But nothing makes me more proud than see Albita being such a success in this country. Most of the money that the Cuban groups earn goes to the Cuban government? Oh yeah, definitely. And most of the people would like to say that and they don't, because they have family in Cuba and they don't want to hurt them. If the political situation changes in Cuba, are you going to go there and look for groups? Oh yeah, if Cuba becomes free. Would you move back there? No, this is my country. I would like maybe to own a house in Cuba. The only thing I want is for Cuba to be free and to be sure that we can help the younger generation learn the American dream and to live in a free country. I don't want anything else. Now, when they open doors I would love to work with the Cuban musicians, because it would be great. I would have a lot of interns, like I do in the United States, to get them to learn the business. Would you set up an office in Cuba? I don't think so. The musical rage for the moment is Cuban music. Will it last? It will keep going on. Look at what happened with Buena Vista Social Club. How have you and Gloria stayed together in business where married couples often don't stay together? We got married for the right reason - love. The second reason is that we worked hard. We love music and we made a lot of money, but that was not the reason.Money never came to mind. We believed in our sound. I remember the first TV shows we did across America, and they wanted Gloria to dress like Carmen Miranda. I said, "What the hell is that?" I didn't want to represent Latin women in that respect. Most of the Latin girls are contemporary and well dressed. And in Cuba, there were some of the most beautiful, fashionable women in the world. What are a couple of your biggest memories in the past 20 years? One is the first time we knew Gloria was No. 1 in England, with "Dr. Beat". Nobody believed in that song, and we didn't even push it. The second memory is the day Gloria came back from the (tour-bus) accident - the first night here in Miami. When I held her, she said, "I'm back". You can't take anything for granted. Just because you are famous one day does not mean you will be famous another day. And you could lose your career in an accident. So, instead of saying, "I cannot sing,"she said, "I am going to sing, and I am going to do it well". And the third is when we played Guantànamo. It was great, just going back to play on Cuban soil. Gloria said, "I'm going to cry; I swear to God, I'm going to be an example". But forget it; once she began to sing "Mi Tierra", she was crying all over the place. She never likes to show her emotions. Another important memory was when we played for President Bush, and my knees were shaking in the Osvald Office. When you are an immigrant, you see things differently. You get to the White House, you have all of this security and whoa! You say, "Is this me? Is this real?" The feeling of being an immigrant never leaves you, does it? It never will. I would say that every Italian and Jewish person could identify with us, because they went through the same thing. Which means, as you have mentioned several times, you never take anything for granted. Never. When you die, the only thing you leave is the love for your kids and your country. You take one suit, one pair of shoes and your favorite tie. So I just enjoy every moment, and don't let go of those moments. And you have to laugh 200 times a day in order to release all of the bad vibes. |
