With three Grammy Awards and 16 Latin Grammys under his belt, it’s safe to say Cuban-American music producer Emilio Estefan has reached the highest strata of success in his field. However, speaking at this year’s Latin Grammy Awards, the esteemed songwriter revealed his path to fame was riddled with hurdles and hardship.
“I was a kid when I left Cuba looking for freedom,” Estefan said in the Variety Studios presented by DIRECTV at Latin Grammys. “I was 11 years-old when I became almost homeless. I had to play the accordion for tips and I made up my mind to be two things: I can be negative or be positive. You can make life so beautiful if you feel positive.”
Estefan went on to produce music for Latin superstars like Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and his wife, Gloria Estefan, with tracks frequenting the Latin top charts. He became the first-ever recipient of the Billboard Latin lifetime achievement award in 1994 and claims he pitched the idea of the Latin Grammy Awards to the Latin Recording Academy before the first ceremony was held in 2000.
But Estefan explained how his culture was not initially embraced in the music industry; he and Gloria, who has also won several Grammys, had conversations about whether or not they should change their last names to conceal their heritage. Ultimately, the two decided against it in an effort to stay true to their roots.
“I wanted people to understand where we came from, that I grew up in the states, and I’m going to have a sound from two different countries that I love,” Estefan said. “And you know, it was hard. The label didn’t want to [invest] any money, and then we became number one.”
