Gloria teams up with husband for film premiere

Dubai: "Salam Alaykum" was multi-Grammy award winning artiste Gloria Estefan's greeting to the members of the press at a conference held for the film 90 Millas, directed by her husband, Emilio Estefan, who was also present.

• Audio: Emilio Estefan talks about his Arabic roots (mp3)
• Audio: Listen to Emilio Estefan explain the concept behind the film (mp3)
• Audio: Gloria Estefan explains the importance of Latin music (mp3)

"We are very happy and thrilled to be here for the first time, premiering the film directed by my husband and also for my first concert in the Middle East," Gloria said.

The film is a documentary on the evolution of Cuban music from its beginnings until now. "Twenty-five of the world's most acclaimed Latin musicians accompany us in this film, including Johnny Pacheco," said Gloria. Pacheco who is a legend in the field of Cuban music was also present at the conference.

"We are extremely happy to be here, it is a dream come true," said Emilio Estefan. "This event is very special event for us and I have worked on a lot of important things in my life, but I hold this film close to my heart."

Lebanese connection

After the interpreter had translated the words of Emilio, he then decided to show off his Arabic skills, using words such as 'habibi' which drew a good round of applause. He has a partial Lebanese background.

Once the panel was open for questioning, the attention was purely on Gloria, and all questions that were asked related to her music career, instead of Emilio's film. When asked about what Gloria thought about the internet and the music industry, she complemented the step that English rock band Radiohead have taken recently to give away music for free.

"I think what they did is fantastic, because quite honestly our music is being taken for free," said Gloria."We have to live in the times and we cannot go backwards and the fans will always pull through. Radiohead have taken out the middle man."

When asked about what Gloria thought about the new Latin singers, such as Enrique Eglesias and Shakira, she said: "The music has to be honest and from the heart, so to me it doesn't matter who is making the music as long as Latin is there and they are getting our sound out."

Gloria said she wants to focus more on her family life.

The music has to be honest and from the heart, so to me it doesn't matter who is making the music as long as Latin is there and they are getting our sound out."