EMILY ESTEFAN She did both.
GLORIA ESTEFAN She blew me away because what I heard, I didn’t expect at all.
The central drama of “Basura” is in many ways a fraught, but loving, mother-daughter relationship, which is summed up in that song they sing together, “I’m Not You.” To what extent is that a reflection of your own relationship and what you brought to the show?
GLORIA ESTEFAN Any mother-daughter relationship is going to have very similar moments. For example, there’s been many times I’ve tried to protect Em from many things she was going to face just because she’s the child of a celebrity. It was a slippery slope in moments because I have the experience of a lifetime, but the only way to learn is through your own experience. I think for her, “I’m Not You,” is so relevant because she had to fight that measuring stick. In every mother-daughter relationship, it’s complicated.
Why do you think this story resonates now?
GLORIA ESTEFAN Well, first of all, we’re all dealing with so much garbage in so many ways. I’m not talking about actual garbage, but emotional, social, political. Music can elevate your experience in whatever you’re going through. We can’t solve the world’s problems, but we can sure make life a little more fun and put some light into the darkness that surrounds us.
EMILY ESTEFAN Also, just being able to tell a story of something that’s actively important. Somebody walked out of the show the other day, and they were like, “I’ll never look at trash the same way.” Walking away from our show with something has been a big gift that I love seeing people experience. And to be proud to be Latin, honestly.
GLORIA ESTEFAN Absolutely. Latinos are basically being called garbage. There’s a line in one song that I specifically put in, in “Basura,” that says, “Please don’t confuse us with basura.” And that line is meant not just from their experience, but from all of our experiences as immigrants in this country. It was for a very specific reason that I put that line in there.
