Maps of Music

Miss Little Havana (2011)

Where the lyrics of Miss Little Havana take you, and where it was really made.

In the US, this Gloria Estefan album was sold only through Target stores.

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Miss Little Havana: twelfth studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan
Estefan's first English-language album since 2003's Unwrapped, and her twenty-sixth album overall
Released September 27, 2011 on Crescent Moon Records, distributed by Verve Forecast and Universal Music Group
In the US, released only through Target stores
Largely conceived and produced by urban producer Pharrell Williams; Emilio Estefan contributed four more tracks

Estefan had announced her retirement from music after the 2007 album 90 Millas
Three years later, Pharrell Williams presented her with "I Can't Believe" and "Miss Little Havana", which she liked
They began working on those songs in the studio while writing the rest of the album
Her first interest in working with Williams came after meeting him through their trainer at a Miami gym in early 2010
The two exchanged messages, and Williams began writing songs he hoped she would want to record
They entered the recording booth in early 2011 to create the basis for the album

Recorded in English with some Spanish lyrics
Dance-pop blended with Estefan's Latin influences
Williams' contemporary production gave her sound a new setting while keeping its Latin identity

Born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García in Havana, Cuba, on September 1, 1957; her family fled to Miami in 1959 after the Cuban Revolution.
Began as lead singer of the Miami Latin Boys in 1975, renamed Miami Sound Machine when she and her cousin Mercedes Navarro joined.
Studied psychology at the University of Miami, graduating in 1979.

Miami Sound Machine's 1985 single "Conga" became her signature song; the 1987 album Let It Loose included the Hot 100 No. 1 "Anything for You".
Went solo in 1989 with Cuts Both Ways, which produced the Hot 100 No. 1 "Don't Wanna Lose You".
Suffered a spinal fracture in a tour bus crash near Scranton, Pennsylvania, in March 1990, then recovered fully and returned with Into the Light (1991), whose "Coming Out of the Dark" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Mi Tierra (1993), her first Spanish-language album, won the Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album; she later won it again for Abriendo Puertas (1995) and won Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album for Alma Caribeña (2000).
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and a Kennedy Center Honors in 2017.
Her Broadway jukebox musical On Your Feet! (2015) is based on her life with husband Emilio Estefan.

Emilio Estefan, her husband and longtime producer, co-created much of her catalog.

The album received mixed reviews; critics were divided over Williams' contemporary production and its blend of dance-pop with Estefan's Latin influences
Houston Chronicle's Joey Guerra called it Estefan's return to the dance floor and her most enjoyable album since 1998's Gloria!
Guerra credited Williams for updating her sound while keeping its Latin identity, citing tracks such as "Heat", "Say Ay", "Right Away", and "Wepa"
Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson gave a mixed assessment, praising the playful, self-aware approach and the avoidance of many dance-music clichés
Henderson found the stylized production ultimately less lasting
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Williams for a livelier, more contemporary setting, particularly on "Make Me Say Yes"
Erlewine criticized the rigid rhythms and found the Cuban-influenced material stiff and mannered, falling short of the party it aimed to create

US Billboard 200: peaked at number 28
Mexican Albums Chart: number 27
Spain: peaked at number 93
Lead single "Wepa" was released for digital download in July 2011 and reached the top of the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart

The album came out on the 25th anniversary of her single "Conga", and a new version of that track, "Conga 25", was offered for download with CD purchase.
In the US the album was sold only through Target stores.
Estefan's interest in working with Williams began after they met through their trainer at a Miami gym in early 2010.
The lead single "Wepa" reached the top of the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Williams first presented her with two songs, which she liked before the rest of the album was written.