It was a night of celebration and reminiscing for multi-million selling artist Gloria Estefan as she was named the Latin Recording Academy person of the year at a Texas ceremony. And among the first to congratulate the Cuban-American singer, as well as help her look back at an incredible career which has spanned over thee decades, was her good pal Andy Garcia.
The Ocean's Thirteen actor helped pay musical tribute to Gloria by showing off his bongo skills on stage. A big Cuban music fan, he has known Gloria since the early Nineties and played a waiter in the music video for her 1992 single I See Your Smile.
Another highlight of the ceremony - just one of the events leading up to this Thursday's Latin Grammy Awards - was a performance by Gloria's 13-year-old daughter Emily. The youngster, who has clearly inherited her mum's musical talents, rocked out a version of Alice Cooper's School's Out, playing solos on both the guitar and the drums.
There were also performances from the lady herself - who, before the ceremony admitted that while she is fiercely proud of her chart-topping discography, she does have a chuckle when she thinks about some of her past fashion statements - especially from the Eighties.
"Oh my God, that hair," says the 51-year-old. "It's funny, the only time I see any of this stuff is when my daughter is Googling me. She understands a lot of it was really campy. What is it they say? Last year's fashion is this year's Halloween costume."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
