On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan @ Winspear Opera House
—Teresa Marrero
Friday night’s high-energy performance of On Your Feet, The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan had a full house literally on its feet. A day after the Dallas area experienced dangerous 80 mph winds, folks seemed eager to get out and enjoy the evening at the beautiful Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. Directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado, with the original book by Alexander Dinelaris, scenic design by Clifton Chadick, lighting by Ryan O’Gara and a live band directed by Daniel Gutierrez, this show delivered!
Part of AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Broadway at the Center series (presented by the Moody Foundation), On Your Feet follows the early lives of the Cuban American crossover music stars, from their first meeting through Gloria’s rehabilitation from a bus accident that nearly paralyzed her for life. Did we hear her triumphant and life-affirming song “Out of the Dark,” performed at the American Music Awards in 1991? Yes, we did.
In 1974, young Gloria (played brilliantly by Katie McCollum) was 17 years old, a recent high school graduate, and Emilio was a mature 22. He already had a band, The Miami Latin Boys, and she was a shy young woman used to singing only within family and neighborhood circles. But her talent was already evident. When Emilio asked her to sing with the band he knew the name had to change: Miami Sound Machine was born, and the rest became music history.
Gaby Albo as Gloria and Samuel Garnica as Emilio head the cast with powerful voices. Albo’s contralto sounded so much like Estefan it was nearly indistinguishable, as was her energetic stage presence. Albo seamlessly morphs from an early awkward Gloria into the exuberant diva the public knows. Javier Ivan plays Nayib, son of the famous couple. The name Nayib honors Estefan’s Lebanese family legacy. Garnica’s mature Emilio shows himself as the driving force that got them to the top. My only objection is that their “falling in love” scene seemed a bit flat.
The antagonist in this storyline is Gloria Fajardo, Estefan’s mother (Francisca Tapia), whose frustrated singing ambitions and old-fashioned ideas (that women who travel in shows are hussies) make her try to put the brakes on her daughter’s career. And she can’t stand Emilio. Tapia’s forceful voice matches her onstage daughter’s, and she conveys the bitter-sweetness of her emotions. However, it is Abuela/Consuelo (Adela Romero) who steals our hearts with her unwavering support of her granddaughter’s talent. Adriel Orlando Garcia plays José Fajardo, Gloria’s eventually wheelchair-bound father, and earns hearty applause with his powerful and soul-felt voice.
Augusto Guardado plays Phil, the NYC producer of the early Miami Sound Machine records. This is where the storyline supersedes the personal. The struggle the Estefans faced when they began wanting also to sing in English is crucial to the history of Latin music in the U.S. While they had already established themselves as stars in the international Spanish language market, U.S. producers at first refused to take a chance on them. This is the story of the 1980s: Letting artists cross over that invisible line, from Spanish-language culture to the mass English-language market, was perceived by mainstream music labels as an unacceptable risk. Remember, this is way before Spotify, still the age of vinyl, with VCR tapes soon to come.
Emilio Estefan had an idea of how to end the standoff. He took their song Conga to the streets, blasting it out of cars in Miami, performing it at dance clubs for free, aiming the sound at Spanish- and English-speakers alike. Let the people decide, he said, not the record labels. And they did. The 1985 single of Conga became Gloria Estefan's signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival's grand prix in 1986. In 1988, she and Miami Sound Machine achieved their first number-one hit with "Anything for You." The Estefans are credited with breaking down barriers and opening doors for Latin musicians. The couple have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and Gloria Estefan’s first million-dollar contract exceeded that of Madonna, a huge deal at the time.
Gloria Estefan has won seven Grammys and was named one of the greatest 100 artists of all time by the VH1 music awards and Billboard. Her continued efforts to draw attention the still existing communist dictatorship in Cuba earned her a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The show was vibrant and strong throughout, but Salgado’s excellent choreography deserves special mention. It is gratifying to see Latin dances done right. This show integrated the dance numbers with their well-recognized songs “Doctor Beat,” “The Rhythm is Gonna Get You,” and “Get on Your Feet” just to name a few. I saw authentic Cuban moves, from the Afro-Cuban guguancó, the danzón, to the flashier contemporary salsa choreographies.
An after-party in the Winspear lobby had a DJ playing salsa, cumbia and cha cha chá, with some of the dancers from the cast mixing it up with the crowd. A great idea and a splendid way to sacudirse (shake it off) after sitting through music that, indeed, makes people get on their feet. And we did—with pleasure.
And as a final note: kudos to ATTPAC for the predominant casting of Latiné artists for this show.
Teresa Marrero is Professor of Latin American and Latiné studies at the University of North Texas Department of Spanish.
