Gloria Estefan was born Gloria Fajardo on September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. As a toddler Estefan fled Cuba with her family to the United States when Communist dictator Fidel Castro rose to power. In 1975 she met keyboardist Emilio Estefan, who led a band called the Miami Latin Boys. Estefan became its lead singer and the band was renamed the Miami Sound Machine before going on to score several Top 10 hits in the 1980s and 1990s. She married Emilio Estefan in September of 1978. They have a son and daughter. One of the most successful crossover artists in Latin music history, Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress, and author of two New York Times best-selling children’s books.
About Life Stories
Life Stories is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization that creates and distributes documentaries, interviews, and educational resources about people whose lives inspire meaningful change. These stories address issues of civics, history, politics, the arts and culture by shining the spotlight on relatable human stories of purpose and meaning in times of change. We provide open access to all our content for communities and classrooms through our curated website and YouTube channel.
About The Thread
The Thread is a new documentary interview series exploring what it means to live a purpose-driven life through conversations with multi-faceted people who have helped shape our society. Each 30-minute episode takes viewers on a personal journey into the life of extraordinary people who candidly share their triumphs and failures. The Thread is available on the Life Stories website and YouTube channel, and as a podcast across all major platforms. Teaching The Thread brings the series into the classroom with episode lessons designed to strengthen social emotional learning and media literacy skills and expand the scope of subject matter in Social Studies and English Language Arts. Future seasons of The Thread will include similar curricular support.
Introduction:
In this video, Gloria Estefan reflects on being raised in a Cuban family that faced challenges upon immigrating to the United States and how her unexpected journey into music served as an emotional outlet from a young age. Estefan discusses how she met her husband, explores their personal and professional dynamics, and highlights the impact of their collaboration.
Please visit “Gloria Estefan: Singing Through Struggles“ to see the full lesson created by Life Stories.
Content Notes
STEP 1
Watch Gloria Estefan’s video “Singing Through Struggles.” Then, freewrite your answers to these questions in your writing journal:
STEP 2
Next, choose at least three of Gloria Estefan’s songs to listen to—choose from the list below or pick different songs from her catalog if your favorites aren’t listed. Then, find page 1 of the Singing Through Struggles—Handout and answer the questions.
STEP 3
At their core, songs are simply stories that are told in a specific structure. Both songs and prose stories use imagery and organize the story in chunks of text; songs, however, are usually written with a specific structure in mind, including verses, a chorus, and sometimes a pre-chorus that comes before the chorus.
Read the lyrics for Gloria Estefan’s song “Reach” on page 2 of the handout and see if you can pick out the verses, the pre-chorus, and the chorus. As you look at the song structure, think about how the parts of the song work together to tell the story.
STEP 4
A key to songwriting is bringing a feeling to life. Songwriters do this in many ways, including writing from their own experiences and using different techniques in the lyrics, like metaphors and similes. On page 3 of the handout (Brainstorming), choose a feeling, write about the last time you felt that feeling, and then come up with three metaphors or similes that describe that feeling. (Reminder: Similes use “like” or “as” and metaphors don’t.)
STEP 5
Now you get to start writing your song! On the Song Template on page 4 of the handout, you’ll see a simplified song structure laid out: verse 1 – chorus – verse 2 – chorus. Begin mapping out your song, using your brainstorming notes from the previous step.
Note: It can take songwriters months, sometimes years, to perfect their lyrics. There’s no pressure to complete your song in one sitting. If you get stuck, here are some strategies you can try:
STEP 6
Finally, take a moment to reflect on the songwriting process. Answer these questions in your writing journal:
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