En La Familia

Kirk Baird

Friday, Nov. 2, 2001 | 9:19 a.m.

For Gloria Estefan, it's all about priorities. And in her world, nothing comes before her family including her career.

Previously her dual roles as a mother/wife and entertainer proved somewhat harmonious.

For example, Estefan's husband, Emilio, was the creative force behind Miami Sound Machine, the band that launched her career. He retains a prominent role in her music today as her manager.

And their son, Nayib, 21, who is a DJ in London, virtually grew up on the road, as Estefan and the band spent nearly 10 years straight touring.

But her focus began to change last year when her 5-year-old daughter, Emily, started school. Feeling the pull of motherly instinct, Estefan canceled a scheduled 2000 tour to be around her daughter for support.

So in that light, consider Estefan's only concerts this year Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center and Nov. 11 at Uncasville, Conn. a gift to her fans.

"I wouldn't even call it a tour, it's just two shows: one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast," the 44-year-old singer said recently from her home in Miami.

"I was supposed to tour last year, but ... I had been traveling for two years straight. I thought, 'You know what? Im going to stay home.' So if I do one show on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, at least my fans get a chance to see (me)."

To the Cuban-born, Miami-raised singer, the concert scheduling represents the best of both worlds. Not only does she have more time to spend with her family, it also limits the "boot camp" lifestyle she maintains on the road.

It's a lifestyle Estefan compared to an athlete's, with frequent workouts, watching what she eats and getting plenty of rest all to preserve her energy and voice for concerts.

And just as athletes, she said performers have a limited amount of "peak" time in their careers. After that, they begin to live off past glory, while new artists stake their claim as hit-makers.

"The nature of music is new and next and young, and that's the way it should be," Estefan said. "Most definitely we've seen a lot of peak album sales. Fortunately for me, my catalogue sells incredibly (well) and my fans continue to buy. But you can't compete with the Britney Spears and the 'N Syncs that right now are at this peak.

"You really have to continue to grow and evolve," as an artist. "And I've been fortunate enough that I've been able to do that and I'm still around."

After joining the wedding band Miami Latin Boys in 1975, which later changed its name to Miami Sound Machine, Estefan released several Spanish-language albums.

Ten years later Miami Sound Machine released its debut English-language album, "Primitive Love," which quickly produced the still-infectious single "Conga."

Itching for a similar follow-up hit, Miami Sound Machine's record label, Sony/Columbia, scoffed at the band's suggestion to release a ballad. The group, however, remained undeterred, for fear of developing the reputation of being nothing more than a dance-style band.

The record execs eventually caved in to the group's request and released the single "Words Get in the Way," which reached No. 5.

"They said we were going to lose momentum, but we took that chance," Estefan said. "It really gave me a good possibility to do both ballads and dance music. There are risks that you take, but at the same time you have to think them out."

She's since pushed her music career even further, taking willing fans along for the ride.

Fluent in Spanish and English -- along with French (she was a French minor in college) -- Estefan routinely crosses the language and musical boundaries with her work, releasing records that appeal to both Latino and Anglo fans: from 1993's "Mi Tierra," an album of traditional Cuban music, to 1998's "gloria!" a collection of pop-oriented dance tunes.

Although she has no preference to either English or Spanish ("it appeals to both sides of of my nature and to both sides of my culture"), Estefan said fan support is what makes her musical adventures possible.

It also made her recovery from an accident in 1990 much easier.

While riding to a show, her tour bus was struck by a semi-trailer. The collision slightly injured Emilio and Nayib, but broke vertebra in Estefan's back.

So began a long road to full recovery that involved two metal rods being surgically implanted in her back. But after the accident, Estefan said, her perception among her audience began to change.

No longer was she living a fairy-tale existence; she was mortal and prone to the same ill fortunes of fate as everyone else.

"When this happened to me, I think they saw me on a personal level," she said. "It was important for me to show them I was really well."

So the singer "outdid" herself on a 29-city tour a year later, to allow her fans to "feel comfortable and say, 'OK, she's all right.' "

More than 10 years after the surgery, she said she's in better condition than ever and engages in almost every activity she did before the accident.

"I don't bend over backward," she laughed, "but then I never did that before."

She's also stretching into the film world.

Her motion-picture debut came in 1999 with "Music of the Heart," in which she acted opposite Meryl Streep. Estefan received positive reviews for her role as Isabel Vasquez, a young, empathetic teacher.

And she has also worked for several years to produce a film version of "Many Lives, Many Masters," a novel about past lives and how it affects a psychiatrist and his patient.

Born and raised Catholic, Estefan said she believes there is a possibility that she has also lived a previous life, based on experiences and feelings she's had while in this life.

Which raises the question: What could the singer have done in previous incarnations to deserve such an existence?

"You know what? I was a lucky person, that's what I would say," Estefan said. "Because I was able to have (a life) any human being could want: a family, a lot of love and support, and doing what I love in life."

In other words, the priorities of a successful life.