Creating the Global Latin Music Scene, Gloria Estefan, Shakira and Montreux Miami
Emilio Estefan has 19 GRAMMYs to his name, but that number barely begins to capture his impact. As the founder of Miami Sound Machine, the producer behind Gloria Estefan's global career, and the man who helped launch Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and the entire global Latin music movement, he has built one of the most remarkable careers in the history of the industry.
This conversation was recorded backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami — a festival Emilio co-created — and it has the intimacy and candor that comes from a conversation between two musicians who love the craft. Emilio talks about his journey from Cuban immigrant to global music titan, the specific decisions that allowed him to build a sound that transcended borders, and what he believes makes music truly universal.
They also talk about the building of the Miami Sound Machine, the records with Gloria that changed both their lives, what he recognized in Shakira before anyone else did, and the responsibility he feels to create opportunities for Latin artists in a global industry that didn't always have room for them.
"I always believed that music has no passport. If you make it with your heart, it crosses every border."
Emilio's journey from Havana to the United States — the experience of being a Cuban immigrant, the musical world he found in Miami, and how his heritage and his new home combined to create the foundation of the Miami Sound.
The creation of Miami Sound Machine and the specific musical blend — Cuban rhythms, funk, pop, and dance music — that made them unlike anything else in the industry and helped create the template for Latin pop crossover.
The story of his musical and personal partnership with Gloria Estefan — how they built one of the most beloved careers in pop music together, the records that defined that sound, and what their creative collaboration has meant over decades.
What Emilio heard in a young Shakira before the world knew her name — the specific qualities that told him she was going to be a global star, and what it took to help translate her vision into records that could reach audiences everywhere.
Emilio's role in the broader Latin music explosion of the 1990s and 2000s — the deliberate strategy behind breaking down industry doors, the artists he championed, and what it meant to prove that Latin music could compete and win at the global level.
The story of bringing the Montreux Jazz Festival to Miami and what that means to Emilio — the idea that music can build bridges between communities, and his vision for what the festival represents as a cultural institution.
Emilio tells the full origin story of Miami Sound Machine — the band, the sound, the vision, and the specific musical decisions that made their music feel simultaneously rooted in Cuban culture and accessible to the entire world.
The Gloria Estefan partnership in his own words — not just the music, but the creative collaboration, the decision-making, and what it has meant to build something so significant with someone he loves.
The Shakira discovery story — what Emilio heard in those early recordings, why he was so certain about her potential when others weren't, and what the experience of helping launch her international career was like.
Emilio's perspective on the Latin music movement — the deliberate work that went into breaking down barriers, the artists who made it possible, and what it means now to see Latin music as one of the dominant forces in global popular culture.
A conversation about resilience — from the Cuban exile experience to a career that has survived every shift in the music industry — and what Emilio believes is the source of his own ability to keep adapting and building.
Backstage at Montreux Miami: Emilio reflects on what it means to bring a world-class festival to his adopted hometown, and why he believes that creating cultural institutions is the most lasting thing a music person can do.
Available on all major platforms.