Review of Gloria Estefan: Que Signa La Tradicion

Introduction

This DVD has a long and complicated history. It was first announced in March 2000, under a different name, and with slightly different content. It was subsequently announced for release a further eight (yes eight!) times, underwent a name and content change along the way, and finally hit the shelves on 25th June 2001, some fifteen months after the initial press release. Fans who were waiting for this disc will probably have got fed up by now and bought the region one version, which was released about six months ago.

But if you have been waiting all of this time, was it worth it? Well, you`ll find a collection of Gloria`s Spanish language songs, which date back to as early as 1993, with three tracks from "Mi Tierra". Gloria has been singing in Spanish for a lot longer than that, but some of those earlier tracks such as "Desde La Oscuridad", "Oye Mi Canto" and "Si voy a perderte" are omitted from this collection. The songs included are also interspersed with behind the scenes footage, personal introductions and even clips from Gloria`s own millenium concert.

Video

A mixed bag of videos, with various different styles on offer. The one consistent thing is that all of the footage here is presented in 4:3, as it was originally shot. It is all of good quality too, and free of blemishes, grain and artefacts on the whole.

As we move through the videos (they`re not presented chronologically though), we see lots of different styles on offer, and lots of different Glorias too!

"Oye" sees Gloria returning to her late 1980s perm, with plenty of leather, rubber and PVC on display, along with lots of bright colours. The video for "Corazon Prohibido" was definitely influenced by Barbarella. "Santo Santo" shows some arterfacting on skin tones, and "Mi Tierra" often looks out of focus, though I seem to recall that this was intentional.

"Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan" flips between black and white and sepia, but we return to bright and vibrant colours for "Tres Deseos". "Abiendo Puertas" shows off some interesting video effects, but "No Pretendo" is just some rather lazy live footage.

Audio

Two audio tracks on offer here, PCM stereo or DD5.1, both in Spanish as that is the language of the songs on offer. I chose to listen to the DD5.1 track and was suitably impressed. It`s been very well put together, with some subtle sound placement where appropriate. All of your speakers get something to do, and it all sounds just right and not too "forced".

The songs themselves vary in style, but all have an underlying latin feeling. "Oye" and "Corazon Prohibido" are both rather cheese-filled, but in different ways. "Santo Santo" is in a very traditional latin style, and is the sort of song that you play at your summer BBQ parties. "Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan" is a love song very much in the style that Gloria became famous for.

Features

A small selection of extras here, including a brief rolling photo gallery, a very extensive discography (which isn`t entirely accurate for the European market), and a "biography", which is really just a few pages of text about Gloria`s most recent album.

You`ll also find subtitles on the disc, including English translations for those of you who don`t speak Spanish. Some of the lyrics do lose a little on translation, and sometimes it seems that someone forgot to translate at all, as the Spanish is shown on the screen. Some words just don`t have an English equivalent, but some that aren`t translated do, so I`m not sure what`s going on.

Conclusion

A very good disc from a technical point of view, but your enjoyment of the musical content might vary quite wildly. The earlier material presented here, such as "Mi Tierra" and "Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan" is amongst the best, with only a few of the more recent tracks like "Santo Santo" reaching the high standards that Gloria set for herself with most of her English material. The more recent tracks seem weak by comparison.

Fans of her earlier work will probably be feeling let down by this collection. An interesting mix of videos, and a good DD5.1 mix make this a good DVD, but it will only really appeal to any fans of Gloria`s most recent work.