Gloria talking about her fans:

"The greatest feeling is to have somebody who's so happy to see you."

 

"They made me strong."

 

"You're where you are because of them. Maybe there's somebody standing there who made a very big effort to come to your show. Maybe this is their only opportunity to be this close to you."

 

Q: What do you attribute to your special relationship with your fans? They are extremely loyal.

A: I've nurtured this relationship. I spent a lot of time touring on the road. Hopefully, every time they see me live, there is a deepening of that relationship. Also, when I went through that tough accident 13 years ago, they were able to connect with me on a very human and personal level. My battles became theirs. They were able to see a human being struggling with difficult times and turning it into something positive.

Gloria talking about performing:

"Performing is one of the best feelings that i know."

 

"For me it's the most beautiful thing i do in life."

 

"When you get offstage with all these thousands of people loving you, the saddest part is to go back to your hotelroom by yourself."

 

"When i began singing 'Conga' and athletes from all over the world busted out of formation to dance with me, I thought:
"Wow, what a great choreography!".
I thought it was planned. But then the tower started shaking and I thought: "Great, first the bus, then the boat, now the tower!"
(talking about her performance at the Olympic Closing Ceremonies
in 1996)

Gloria talking about life:

"The power of love inspires me and keeps me going."

 

"Love is a constant source of inspiration, surprise and wonderment."

 

"Fame is something you get from other people, It's not that i have some intrinsic thing that makes me famous.
If your selfimage depends on that fame, you're in trouble."

 

"My home is the only place i can really be me."

 

"People told me at the beginning: 'You're too Latin for the Americans, too American for the Latins'. But that's who I am, I'm a Cuban-American, I'm not one thing or the other.
I have an American head and a Cuban heart."

 

"I wore chaps in the video for the single '1-2-3,' and do you know what one of my nightmares is? It's that i'll grow old and senile and wear those particular chaps in my house with long, curly, gray hair and my butt at my ankles. People do strange things when they get old. Can you imagine, I put them on and start yelling: "I'm the Conga
Queen!, What a nightmare!"

 

"Shit happens, I know, but man, at times I've wished shit would go somewhere else for a while."

 

"I want to leave a legacy of love with my family, my friends, and with my music fans. I want people to know that I really cared about them and that I really was nurtured by their love."

 

"To me, humor is one of the most important things in my life; it has helped me through some very rough points.
My humor can sometimes be irreverent, but every moment it has been there with me, even through the darkest moments. I think it helps us to not take ourselves too seriously.
There is just too much to celebrate and too much to be grateful for."

 

"If i had one thing that i wanted people to say about me, what would it be? Hmmmmm... Probably: "Ooh she's so tall! Oh my gosh she's so tall!"

Gloria talking about the accident:

"About a week after it happend, I said to myself: "Enough of this".
I mean: you can't just let life land on you. Bad things happen ofcourse, but you have to take control of your life."

 

"Many people didn't realize it at the time, but Emilio didn't know if he could handle something as emotional as that. Men are often very goal-oriented and problem-solving, even in their emotional life.
My husband could have turned and run the other way, and i'm sure that many have done that.
But Emilio became so supportive, I couldn't have asked for more love and support.
I really would not have been the same without him. It deepened our relationship beyond what words can describe, because we lived through a very tough experience together."

Gloria talking about her music:

"Anything for food, just bring it here, i haven't said i'm through, and where's my beer? I've been waiting for so long, all my appetizer's gone, and still my hunger pangs are strong. I'll still do Anything for food, in spite of this punch, and pizzas i've consumed, and that's just for lunch. In spite of what i eat, i still get thinner, so just go out and get me dinner. If in ten minutes you're not back, i guess i'll have myself a snack. Perhaps a turkey with some stuffing, a pound of ham on english muffin."

 

"It has been five years since we have toured. As a human being, my life experiences during these past five years have become a part of my music. So that's why the theme of this tour is Evolution. I want people, when they go to a concert, to get to know me as a human being a little more. I would like my audiences to get an overview of how we have evolved, personnaly, spiritualy, and musically through time."