Gloria and Emilio Estefan's Documentary Traces History of Latin Music in the United States

Dubai, December 11, 2007: Latin American superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband and collaborator Emilio Estefan officially launched the World Premiere of their new documentary, 90 Millas (90 Miles), at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) today.

Gloria Estefan will perform in conjunction with the screening of the film as part of the festival's new Rhythm n Reels series, which pairs a musical film with a live performance.

In the company of Latin music legend Johnny Pacheco, who narrated and performed in the documentary, the couple expressed their excitement at being in Dubai. Emilio Estefan, who is of Lebanese background, said: "It's a dream to open this documentary, because it's almost impossible to capture what we did in this doc. It's the history of Latin Music in the United States. I feel very proud that we never forget where we came from."

The film's director, Emilio Estefan , is a music producer with 14 Grammies to his credit. He has helped shape the careers of popular Latin singers such as Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin. He financed the documentary himself, buying three films and capturing the performances of the legends of Latin music.

Gloria Estefan explained the title of the film and album: "90 Miles is the distance between Cuba and the southernmost point of Florida, in Key West. Even though we have been separated from our homeland for 48 years, they cannot separate us from our musical heritage."

The film traces the couple's three years of the album project, which comprises the performances of 25 musical legends. Gloria Estefan said: "The idea was also to salvage a lot of the rhythms that are original from Cuba, but bring the modern sound to it and the quality of recording we have today, as well as a lot of fusions. It's all our original music." Her husband added that while it was the first time to capture the living history of Latin music, due to the age of most of the performers, he doubted it could happen again.

Johnny Pacheco agreed, and said that it was 'beautiful' to see the love that Emilio put into the project, and stated that the album was like an archive: "When I listen to the CD, I can tell how meticulous [the Estefans] were getting the people together. That's the crème de la creme, and I know that it must have been two years in the making, but it's going to last for years and years. Having this record for the new generation, there's so much to learn from there."

Pacheco said that he fell in love with Cuban music when he was a child in the Dominican Republic: "It just grabbed me, and when I heard this wonderful job that they did, it brought me back to those years. So dynamic, there's nothing like it."

90 Millas will be screened on December 13 at the Dubai Media City.

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About DIFF:
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) was launched in December 2004 under the theme: Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds.

DIFF is held under the honorary Chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. DIFF is a not-for-profit cultural event, presented and organised by the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority.

As the previous editions of DIFF have demonstrated, the Festival not only presents cinematic excellence from around the world, but is also an important high-profile platform for aspiring home-grown talent.

"Bridging Cultures. Meeting Minds," has been hailed by all as a unique and relevant theme to promote better understanding and mutual respect between different communities and countries.

Since its inception, DIFF has become an important meeting point for international and regional filmmakers and industry professionals setting the foundation for potential future collaborations.

The past three editions of DIFF have presented more than 250 films, documentaries and shorts from more than 48 countries.

DIFF 2006
In 2006 the festival took place at the magnificent Madinat Jumeirah resort. As a further commitment of DIFF's endeavours to facilitate greater opportunities for regional Arab talent, the Muhr Awards was launched. Another first for DIFF in 2006 was the setting up of the Industry Office, which was established with a view to exclusively assist the needs of all registered delegates.

DIFF 2007
The fourth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival will take place from December 9-16 and will present the best of Arab and international cinema in the feature film, shorts and documentary formats. Building on the success of last year, DIFF 2007 will also host the Muhr Awards and the Industry Office with new features.

For any further information and regular updates on DIFF 2007 please log on to www.dubaifilmfest.com

For further information, please contact:
Majid Wasi
Senior Account Manager
Jiwin
Tel:  +9714 361 3333
Fax: +9714 368 8001
Email: majid.wasi@jiwin.ae

© Press Release 2007