IN A BLAZE OF GLORIA..

Latin culture to fore in new Estefan LP

- By Casey Cooper-Fiske

AS the first Hispanic artist to be inducted into the Songwriters' Hall Of Fame, with nine Grammy Awards and a string of top 10 albums and No1 songs behind her, Gloria Estefan is one of Latin music's heavyweights.

The Havana-born singer began her career alongside her husband Emilio Estefan in the Latin pop group Miami Sound Machine, bringing Cuba's musical heritage into the Western mainstream with singles such as Dr Beat, 1-2-3 and Can't Stay Away From You.

In 1989, she would embark on a solo career which took her all the way to the Super Bowl halftime show on three occasions in 1992, 1995 and 1999.

Her latest album Raices is her first Spanish-language record in 18 years, and the singer said she feels it is important to show pride in the US's Latin culture, amid a tense atmosphere in the country with the Donald Trump administration's ICE migrant deportation orders.