Mi Tierra (My Homeland) is the third studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan, released on June 22, 1993, by Epic Records. Produced by husband Emilio Estefan, it is a Spanish-language album and pays homage to her Cuban roots. The album features Cuban musical genres, including boleros, danzón and son music. Recorded at Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, Florida, Mi Tierra features notable Latin musicians such as Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Cachao López, Chamin Correa and Paquito D'Rivera.
The album was an international success, selling over five million copies worldwide. In the United States it was the first record to reach number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, spending 58 weeks at #1 (longest running #1 album on the chart ever).[2] It also peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard 200 chart. Mi Tierra has sold over one million copies in the US and Spain. The album received favorable reviews from critics, who praised the album's production, songs and Estefan's vocals. Its success won the singer a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. Mi Tierra spawned seven singles: "Mi Tierra", "Con Los Años Que Me Quedan", "Tradición", "Montuno", "¡Sí Señor!...", "Mi Buen Amor" and "Ayer".
Gloria Estefan had wanted to record a Spanish-language album reflecting her Cuban heritage since the beginning of her musical career.[3] Before recording in English, Estefan and her band performed at Latin nightclubs;[4]she also remembered her grandmother teaching her old Cuban songs. Music had an important role in Estefan's family; her paternal grandmother was a poet, and an uncle played the flute in a salsa band.[3] The singer's desire to record an album in Spanish was also influenced by her son, Nayib; she wanted him to recognize his Cuban heritage.[4]
Mi Tierra was produced by Estefan's husband, Emilio Estefan, and fellow Miami Sound Machine members Clay Ostwald and Jorge Casas.[5] It features notable Latin musicians, including Nestor Torres, Cachao López, Paquito Hechavarría, Chamin Correa, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Luis Enrique and Tito Puente.[6] Additional performers include Sheila E. and the London Symphony Orchestra.[6][7] The album was recorded at Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, Florida.[8] Celia Cruz was invited to perform, but was unable to do so because of her touring schedule.[3] The album's cover features Estefan in a black-and-white photo at a Havana nightclub before the Cuban Revolution.[9]
The opening track on the album, "Con los Años Que Me Quedan" ("With the Years I Have Left"), is a Cuban bolero song. Three other bolero tracks on Mi Tierra are "Mi Buen Amor" ("My True Love"), "Volverás" ("You'll Be Back"), and "Hablas de Mí" ("You're Talking About Me").[5][10] The title track details the passion of Estefan's homeland in a salsa arrangement.[5] In "Ayer" ("Yesterday") the singer finds a flower given to her by a lover and yearns for him to return, since life is short. Its music combines bolero and son music.[11] "No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga" ("Out of All Bad, Some Good Things Come") is a danzón recalling a brief love affair.[5]
"¡Sí Señor" ("Да, сэр!") - еще один сыновний трек, вошедший в альбом. [6] Болеро «Volverás» позже было исполнено мексиканским исполнителем Алехандро Фернандесом в его альбоме Me Estoy Enamorando (1997), также спродюсированном Эмилио Эстефаном. [12] «Монтуно» берет свое название от одноименного музыкального жанра . [13] «Hablemos El Mismo Idioma» («Давайте говорить на одном языке») — это гимн, обращенный к другим испаноязычным группам и говорящий им, что, поскольку они говорят на одном языке, им следует оставить свои разногласия позади. [14] Альбом завершается песней «Tradición» («Традиционный»), которая исполняется как гуагуанко . [5]