A Conversation With Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan

Saturday, April 27, 2024

John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, Southern Connecticut State University

Grammy award-winning singer, actress songwriter, author of two New York Times bestselling children’s books, philanthropist, and humanitarian

FROM THE SCSU INTERIM PRESIDENT

Greetings! Welcome to Southern Connecticut State University and the Mary and Louis Fusco Distinguished Lecture Series, which for 23 years has brought to our campus leading figures in the arts, sports, politics, and public service. In this latest installment, we are honored to present international superstar and Grammy Award-winning singer Gloria Estefan.

As an actress, songwriter, author of two New York Times best-selling children’s books, philanthropist and humanitarian, Ms. Estefan has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has garnered eight Grammy Awards and an Oscar nomination for her performance of the song “Music Of My Heart.”

Together, she and her husband, Emilio, share their story of two people who – through an unwavering dedication to one another and their pursuit of the American dream – showcased their talent, music, and heritage to the world in a remarkable rise to global stardom, as captured in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, On Your Feet!

Ms. Estefan is the founder of the Gloria Estefan Foundation, whose mission is to support charitable programs for disadvantaged children and empower young people through education and opportunity. In doing so, her work mirrors Southern Connecticut State University’s historic and proud commitment to access, social justice, and empowering lives through higher education.

In closing, I am pleased to thank the Fusco family, along with our corporate sponsors and campus groups, for their support of this lecture series. I also thank the organizers for their efforts in creating this event, part of the proceeds from which benefit the Endowed Awards of Excellence, a merit-based scholarship program established to attract and recognize academically talented students.

Again, welcome to Southern, and enjoy the evening.

Dr. Dwayne Smith Interim President, Southern Connecticut State University

The 23rd Mary and Louis Fusco Distinguished Lecture Presents

MODERATOR

BRICEYDA LANDAVERDE

Reporter, NBC Connecticut

WELCOME

DR. DWAYNE SMITH

Interim President, Southern Connecticut State University

FEATURED GUEST GLORIA ESTEFAN

Q&A WITH THE AUDIENCE

ABOUT MARY AND LOUIS FUSCO

Louis Fusco emigrated from his native village of Benevento, Italy, in 1903 when he was 16 years old. Trained as a stone mason, he began his business career in construction, quickly establishing himself in the New Haven area as a reliable general contractor who took great pride in his work and in his word.

A crucial partner in the early days, his wife, Mary, managed the growing accounts while teaching grammar school in New Haven. The couple lived for 20 years on Goffe Terrace in the Southern Connecticut State University area, a neighborhood filled with homes built by Mr. Fusco. As the company grew and prospered, the couple devoted increasing amounts of time to both church and philanthropic pursuits.

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Southern is proud to partner with New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the university’s orchestra in residence, to expand our shared institutional commitments to education; access; diversity, equity and inclusion; and community engagement.

International superstar Gloria Estefan is a Grammy Award-winning singer, actress, songwriter, author of two New York Times best-selling children’s books, philanthropist, and humanitarian. She is considered one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved performers and the most successful Latin crossover artist in music history, per Billboard Magazine.

Having sold more than 100 million records worldwide, Estefan has garnered eight Grammy Awards and an Oscar nomination for her performance of the song “Music Of My Heart.” She has received an American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, and was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2015, President Obama honored Emilio and Gloria Estefan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the United States, to world peace, and cultural endeavors. In 2017, Gloria was the first Cuban-American singer-songwriter to receive The Kennedy Center Honors.

On Your Feet! is the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical based on the lives and music of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, who are its executive producers. It is the story of two people who — through an unwavering dedication to one another and their pursuit of the American dream — showcased their talent, music, and heritage to the world in a remarkable rise to global superstardom. On Your Feet! has received rave reviews and nominations for Tony Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and Drama League Awards and is now on tour worldwide.

Estefan is the founder of the Gloria Estefan Foundation whose mission is to support charitable programs for disadvantaged children and empower young people through education and opportunity. The Foundation also supports spinal cord research through the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

In 2020 Estefan’s Grammy-winning album Brazil305 topped the charts worldwide while she served as one of three hosts for her four-time Emmynominated and Emmy-winning and GLAAD Award-nominated Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk: The Estefans. Its 20 episodes are streaming now. In 2021 she voiced the character Marta in the critically acclaimed animated film Vivo, with music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and released on Netflix.

In the summer of 2022, Estefan starred in Father of the Bride opposite Andy García, airing on HBO Max. The movie amassed HBO Max’s biggest audience for a streaming-only film and soared to the No. 1 title spot across HBO Max worldwide.

Released in November 2022, the Estefan Family Christmas album featuring Gloria, her daughter, Emily, and grandson, Sasha, will be one of the first albums of its kind to combine three generations. It will include 12 Christmas classics and two original songs, one of which was written by Gloria, Emily, and Sasha.

In 2023, Estefan was the first Latina in history to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This honor recognized her for the iconic songs that she has written, for example, “Anything for You,” “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” “Words Get In The Way,” “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” and “Let’s Get Loud,” among many others that have enriched and transformed music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.

LECTURE MODERATOR BRICEYDA LANDAVERDE

Briceyda Landaverde is a reporter for NBC Connecticut. She can be seen during the early evening weekly newscast. Briceyda has a passion for storytelling and connecting with the community. She covers general assignments and some of the biggest stories in Connecticut.

Briceyda, also known as Bri, joined the team in June of 2022 as a bilingual reporter. Previously, she was a weekend morning anchor and reporter in Springfield, Mass., where she helped launch an online news update in Spanish. The New York native started her career on Long Island as a photojournalist.

In 2016, Briceyda graduated from Stony Brook University. As a student journalist she traveled to Cuba, during the brief period when the travel ban was lifted, and reported on Wi-Fi accessibility on the island.

During her free time, Briceyda enjoys finding new adventures in Connecticut. When the weather permits, you can find her outside taking a walk or hike. She also likes to travel across the Long Island Sound to visit her parents, sisters, and friends.

New Spanish Website Aims To Connect Students and Their Families to Southern

Un nuevo sitio web en español tiene como objetivo conectar a los estudiantes y sus familias con la Universidad

Southern’s new Spanish language website is proof that necessity is the mother of invention. With nearly 25% of Southern’s undergraduate students identifying as Latino, the time had come for a way to directly connect with this growing population.

Enter the trio of Katie De Oliveira, Esteban Garcia, and Sobeira Latorre, the driving force behind the new site. They recognized the need for Spanish-language communications on campus because they also related to it. Each brought personal experience of the first-hand challenges related to speaking Spanish as a first language.

Garcia, who is associate bursar, moved to the United States at 16 years old. When it came time to apply to college, he found himself in a labyrinth of deciphering acronyms and decrypting the complex constraints of the English language.

“My English was iffy, my parents with English were a lot iffier,” he recalled.

Adding to that challenge was his parents’

powerlessness in assisting him. The language hurdle made it difficult for them to understand what his college needs were and what steps to follow. They couldn’t help him maneuver the process that, for them, was written in a foreign language.

So, when the opportunity arose to help establish a Spanish-language website at Southern, Garcia knew he had to pay it forward.

“This is definitely a way for me to give back to my Spanish-speaking community,” he said.

While online tools like Google Translate are useful, they don’t provide the authentic support of a dedicated website. The newly launched site does.

“You get a better connection with those students,” Garcia said. “Family is very important in developing those bonds. You put names and faces that those families can reach out to, to help navigate the whole process.”

The importance of family to the Latino community factored into the site’s development.

Katie De Oliveira lived the experience in a different manner than her teammates in the effort.

De Oliveira is director of the Center for Academic Success and Accessibility Services (CASAS). Before taking that position at Southern, she worked in the Midwest, providing therapy in Spanish and assisting clients who were engaged in the court system. She noticed a severe lack of Spanish-speaking support.

“I had lots of families and adults who needed to understand what was happening. That interested me in the language and how to best support

families,” she recalled.

De Oliveira went on to achieve her master’s and doctoral degrees, met her Venezuelan-born husband, and through starting her family, saw the personal struggles of her spouse and in-laws related to the language barrier.

“It’s always been close to me. It’s in my everyday life,” she said.

The same could be said of Sobeira Latorre, professor of Spanish. Her doctorate in Hispanic languages and literatures and training brought her a deeper understanding of students who have a connection to Spanish.

“I am a second-language learner,” said Latorre, who is Puerto Rican and Dominican. “I came here when I was 12 years old. I understand what is like to learn a second language. Many of my students study Spanish as a second language or Spanish is their native language; some may have learned it at home from their families, so they have a connection to it.”

The connection and family bonds became the sign of something more. They signaled a need for meaningful participation in student orientation sessions. At the urging of Sal Rizza, director of the Office of Orientation, Transition and Family Engagement, Garcia and De Oliveira began offering a workshop in Spanish, to test a notion that there was a language barrier preventing attendees from engaging in orientation.

“We noticed that families would come and not fully integrate in all the different workshops we have,” Garcia said.

In 2018, De Oliveira and Garcia began offering the Spanish orientation sessions for families. “We had great attendance. We started to think of multiple workshops we could do. There were tears – parents were so happy that there are folks that speak their language,” Garcia said.

That sentiment resonates with Latorre, who didn’t know a word of English when she moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic.

“I grew up navigating the education system with a parent who didn’t speak English,” she said. Coming in to support the Spanish-language initiative, Latorre understood how important it is to inform family members of what their kids are doing – in their own language.

“They’d been working on Spanish at Southern for many years in a different capacity than me. It’s really part of my own personal history, an extension of what I do every day in the classroom,” Latorre said.

Inspired by the response to the Spanish-language orientation sessions, Garcia, De Oliveira and Latorre set out to bring their mission to life. They conducted outreach to universities to explore best practices for introducing Spanish-language events that could help connect the students and their families who needed the cultural connections and communication in their native language.

“We talked to different universities all over the country to learn best practices – California, Wisconsin. We checked all over the place. We were looking to tailor our message and culture on campus,” Garcia said.

Even with the obstacle of a global pandemic temporarily derailing its progress, the program took shape. The team dug into the geographic concerns of Spanish-language differences, from the Caribbean to South America. They found a professional translator to support the needs of tailored messages for Southern’s offices that needed information in Spanish.

The impact is evident, the three said. De Oliveira recalled a student who showed up at CASAS on the third floor of Buley Library a couple of years ago seeking support.

When the student began speaking fluently in Spanish, the office staff were at a loss to help her. None of them spoke Spanish. But they knew that De Oliveira, who worked down the hall at CASAS, did. They connected the two of them.

That encounter fueled inspiration. But first, it helped. The student needed translation support

from Spanish to English – for books, financial aid, FAFSA applications – all the needs any student faces. But for this student, the needs came with the challenge of being in a language she did not speak or fully understand.

“When she came here, we all worked together with her to support her,” De Oliveira said.

Today, that student works for CASAS. She has been instrumental in helping the team understand how it can support Spanish-language students.

“We got to see how she worked in class, how she understood Spanish. She struggled to know English and then got A’s and B’s. She worked with a literacy tutor to better understand the English language structure. In some cases, if she wouldn’t have had people that spoke Spanish or the resources, I don’t know that she would have stayed here,” De Oliveira said. “We helped.”

These connections, the team said, can support retention of students by helping them in the critical transition into college. Bringing their families into the process in a meaningful way has helped teach parents about what’s happening on campus and how to best support their children in this new part of their life.

“These are adults transitioning into college. What does that mean for their families?

This helps them stay on campus, stay in good academic standing, better understand how to get that sense of belonging,” De Oliveira said.

The Spanish website is just the beginning. Garcia said the team hopes to expand on the site by providing more resources that reinforce the connections for the students and their families.

“We want to increase the outreach we do to our Spanish-speaking community, make them comfortable becoming part of the Southern community. It starts with not just the website but with other programming. And events and workshops that are part of this initiative,” he said.

Communication has been the key to their success, Latorre said. The team recognized the

need to speak the same language, but also to stay connected and share information about the students they’re helping, as well as the results they’re achieving.

“This is part of a larger effort to address the needs of this large and increasingly growing population on our campus. This is a bigger project that many of us have been engaged in for many, many years,” she said.

Latorre noted that she, Garcia, and De Oliveira also co-chair Advancing Latino/a/x/es at SCSU (ALAS). The group, which comprises members of the staff, faculty, and administration, works to promote the success of Latino students in areas such as access to higher education, retention, and timely graduation. They collaborate closely with the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The three hope their efforts to promote inclusion and support for Spanish-speaking students and their families will send a welcoming message that there’s help for those students who need it.

“They can come to us, they can ask questions, build a rapport,” De Oliveira said.

To check out the Spanish website and get more information on resources, visit: SouthernCT.edu/ espanol.

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SOUTHERN’S MEDIA, ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAMS

Communications, Media, and Screen Studies

Southern’s Communications, Media, and Screen Studies program provides students with a broad range of study and skillsets, including advertising, promotion, persuasion, cinema and genre studies, representation of gender and gender issues, filmmaking and digital production, television, social media, technology, propaganda, and personal and professional communication.

Our film, television, and digital production concentration is geared towards aspiring filmmakers and content creators. Students develop their understanding of professional theory and techniques that prepare them for careers in all aspects of the media production

industry. Students learn to comprehend, analyze, and participate in both local and global film and media cultures and industries, which includes traditional and new media technologies, from film to video games. They study the impact media and technology have upon every facet of our world and learn to make meaningful choices about the mediated messages they consume.

Mass communication concepts are explored, preparing students to meet the ever-growing demand for professionals who can create effective communications strategies and disseminate them to customers, the public, and other key audiences. Because of the wide spectrum of knowledge students gain, opportunities for careers are limitless, whether it’s in the boardroom or in the field: making, curating, or critiquing mediated communication; working in front of a camera; or preparing for graduate studies.

Journalism

Today’s ever-changing media marketplace demands students go beyond the strong reliance on writing, research, and editing to a high reliance on technology and multimedia presentation and storytelling. Employers are seeking informed citizens who have a strong knowledge of good ethical practice and decision-making built on First Amendment and Freedom of Information principles.

Whether students are seeking traditional careers or one that utilizes the strengths of writers and editors, photographers and designers, Southern’s Journalism

program prepares students for these professional careers. We have years of accomplishments by our faculty, students, and alumni to provide a strong network for the first job and beyond.

The new news media requires a multimedia journalist capable of producing a full package of news via text, video, audio, still photos, and graphics. The Journalism Department’s curriculum is geared toward providing students with a full range of the knowledge, tools, and skills they need to be successful in the field in this new news media landscape.

Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy

Studying the arts and humanities at Southern gives students the unique advantage of the cultural richness of New Haven, a city with some of the nation’s leading organizations in the visual and performing arts, cultural heritage and preservation, and the public humanities. The new minor in Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy offers an introduction to that professional world by helping you develop skills for a more diverse range of careers in areas such as:

• archival and curatorial work

• non-profit cultural organization administration

• grant-writing and development

• theatre, performing arts, museum, and library management

• arts education and more ...

We know there’s no single pathway into these fields. What matters is how students combine their major and areas of interest with the knowledge and practical tools needed to develop a meaningful voice in the creative sector. The 19-credit minor is particularly ideal for Art, English, History, Music, or Theatre majors, interdisciplinary students, and those hoping to add an arts-related focus to another professional discipline.

Cultural Partnerships

Often, the most interesting work at arts and cultural organizations is about having a network. Southern is committed to helping current and prospective students create that network, no matter their background. More than any other city in Connecticut, New Haven is the right place to experience the variety of careers in the arts. The opportunity to formally partner with the following three New Haven cultural institutions is designed to develop and foster New Haven’s future arts leaders, as well as serve as a cultural classroom for the Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy minor.

The university’s partnership with The Elm Shakespeare Company (ESC) brings new energy to the Theatre Department and the entire university community. ESC is officially “in residence” at Southern Connecticut State University.

The Elm Shakespeare Company (ESC)

As part of the partnership, ESC reserves three non-union acting or technical positions for Southern students in its summer season; provides a member of its artistic staff to teach a Shakespeare workshop (THR 228) every semester; and offers additional free workshops to SCSU theater students. In addition, when available, a member of the ESC artistic staff will direct agreed-upon Theatre Department productions, and the company provides formal fieldwork opportunities for qualified Southern students interested in theater education.

The fourth-oldest orchestra in America, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s (NHSO) exceptional and accessible performances and education programs reach more than 40,000 audience members and 20,000 students each year. The NHSO has joined forces with Southern, as the symphony-in-residence at John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts. The residency includes on-campus concerts, classroom visits, hands-on learning experiences, and internships.

Through the residency, students have access to internships with the orchestra. Classes engage in hands-on learning experiences in arts administration and non-profit management. The residency also offers students of varying majors opportunities to engage with the symphony through multi-disciplinary lectures and on-campus events.

A new partnership was recently launched with the Long Wharf Theater, formalizing a more than 30-year-long relationship between the two institutions. This collaboration embodies Long Wharf Theatre’s core pillar of kaleidoscopic community partnerships, and jointly strengthens both institutions, both of which have deep roots in New Haven. The partnership includes the formation of a new paid internship program, special student discounts to future Long Wharf productions, and the collaboration on Long Wharf Theatre’s benefit event featuring The Crucible at SCSU’s John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts in spring 2023.

The partnership offers SCSU students up to five paid internships, both in theater management and other career experiences — from development to communication. Interested students also have the opportunity to partake in Long Wharf’s regularly-scheduled annual auditions. Long Wharf Theatre professionals (including actors, technical staff, production staff, and guest artists) work with SCSU to organize on-campus workshops, lectures, and demonstrations.

PREVIOUS LECTURE SERIES SPEAKERS

Part of the proceeds from the Mary and Louis Fusco Distinguished Lecture Series benefits Southern’s Endowed Awards of Excellence, a merit-based scholarship program that attracts and recognizes academically talented students.

Colin Powell 1999

Rudolph Giuliani 2003

Tim Russert 2008

Michael J. Fox 2011

Robin Roberts 2016

Walter Cronkite 2000

Mario Cuomo 2004

Mark Kelly 2012

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2017

Dana and Christopher Reeve 2001

Madeleine Albright 2005

Brian Cashman 2009

Alan Alda 2013

Joe Biden 2018

Ehud Barak 2002

Bill Belichick 2006

Apolo Ono 2010

Jay Leno 2014

Mariano Rivera and Joe Torre 2015

Michael Phelps 2019

Spike Lee 2023

Gloria Estefan 2024

Whoopi Goldberg 2007