also is about a passionate vocal side of Gloria that was inspired by her Cuban cultural and familial roots, as well as her deep familiarity with the emotionally-charged, love songs, including "Me Voy" and "Dame Otra Oportunidad." Gloria comments her standout renditions of such future classics as "No Me Dejes De Querer" and "Por Un Beso" were achieved, because as she tells it: "I approached it in a totally different way. I almost imagined myself back in my grandma's kitchen, playing my guitar for her and just emoting. And before I went into the studio, I made these songs mine; I learned them backward and forward. Gloria's famed producer and husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., who piloted "Alma Caribeña," says Gloria had gotten to know the material so well that by the time she was ready to record the tunes "it was if she had been performing them in concert for a year."

Emilio credits Robert Blades, who co-wrote seven tracks on the album, for guiding Gloria's powerhouse vocal performances. "There is heavy drama in this album, vocally, " declares Gloria, who has won two Grammy Awards in Latin music categories. "I think I've been a lot more - in Spanish they would call it - "atrevida," which means "bold" in the way I've approached the singing on this album. I think definitely that comes from growing up in a Cuban household. A lot of the boleros, the songs that I grew up listening to, strongly influenced the ways that some of these songs were sung. And the passion definitely that comes from Cuban music is a part of the Caribbean."

Her "Alma Caribeña" now bared, Gloria talks about several of the tracks:

NO ME DEJES DE QUERER: "When we went to pick the first single for this album it was really a tossup for us with 'No Me Dejes De Querer,' which is the first single, and 'Por Un Beso.' We all felt that both of those songs were very indicative of what we were trying to do on this record. 'No Me Dejes De Querer' won out because it is such a happy, unique type of tune, even though there is an incredible salsa section which is legit salsa. It starts with a son, it has a bit of murga from Panama in it. It's a very happy record. It talks about a kind of love that is wonderful and happy and feels great and you're saying to that person don't ever stop loving me. I think the way I did the ad-libs, as well, is something unique that people haven't heard me do before."

POR UN BESO: "'Por Un Beso' is the first song written for the album about four and-a-half years ago. The arrangement by Papo Luca is amazing - it has a very jazzy feel and at the same time Cuban son in its percussion...and a very dramatic beginning, and that's why I put it at the top of the record, because it is a very strong Cuban torch song. It's one of my favorites, if not my favorite. It is very different from what people have heard me do, because it's really heavy drama."

COMO ME DUELE PERDERTE: "'Como Me Duele Perderte' means 'how it hurts to lose you'...has a solo violin which we've used a lot on this record which you've never heard on our previous records. It really hits the heartstrings. I am sure it is going to be a single."

The musical styles of the remaining cuts reveal diverse examples of Latin music blends, as well. Following is a check list of grooves on "Alma Caribeña." "Punto De Referencia" - Murga with salsa. "Dame Otra Oportunidad" - Bachata, son, salsa. "Nuestra Felicidad" - Bolero "Tengo Que Decirte Algo" - Bolerto, blues. "Te Tengo A Tí" - Bachata, son, salsa. "Solo Por Tu Amor" - Bolero, son. "Tres Gotas De Agua Bendita" - Afro-Cuban. "Me Voy" - Bolero.

"Tres Gotas De Agua Bendita," Gloria's tribute to her grandmother, was recorded with legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz. "Tengo Que Decirte Algo" was cut with José Feliciano, whom Gloria credits as being a crossover original who "did incredible things for Latin music...and he was there before we were ever there, opening doors, as was Santana." Likewise, "Alma Caribeña" will open more doors for Latino sounds from the Caribbean, which is nothing new for Gloria. Since her groundbreaking 1985 hit "Conga," which she cut with the Miami Sound Machine, Gloria has been synthesizing grooves and cadences to copious critical and commercial acclaim. While piling up dozens of gold and platinum discs from around the world, Gloria was one of the earliest to recognize the potential for unadulterated Cuban sounds when she put out the Spanish-language single "Oye Mi Canto" in 1990. Three years later, Gloria's landmark CD "Mi Tierra" introduced Cuban roots music to a global audience for the first time. Gloria points out that music enthusiasts are getting more and more into Latin music these days because "it's kind of let it all hang music:It's passionate...it is a lovely marriage of all these rhythms." Just like "Alma Caribeña."