💃 From Dr. Beat to Conga - Gloria Estefan’s Breakthrough and Latin Pop’s Future (Part 2)

The Twelve Inch 181 : Conga (Miami Sound Machine) Part 2

In part 1 we looked at how the Miami Sound Machine began as a small Miami wedding band, how Gloria Estefan joined, and why their early attempts during the disco years didn’t break through. We also traced the roots of the conga rhythm, from Afro-Cuban drums to Desi Arnaz leading conga lines through Manhattan nightclubs, and saw how it carried nostalgia as well as party energy.

By the mid-1980s, Miami had become a cultural hotspot, and the Miami Sound Machine captured that sound and look. But even with all this momentum, they still hadn’t cracked the American charts. That would only change with one European (club) hit, and a tour that gave Gloria and Emilio Estefan the spark to write Conga.