Gloria Estefan
Presents Her Serene Highness Noelle
By Liz Balmaseda
December 2005/January 2006
This is the story of an unlikely princess who dwells on an enchanted island of lush foliage, playful creatures, clear pools shimmering with golden fish, and tropical music that makes one sway like the palm fronds.
Noelle is a privileged citizen of Star Island. She has the run of a mansion and exotic bird pals named Cosmo and Daiquiri. Noelle herself is a scrunched-nosed English bulldog.
Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, she is one lucky, lucky dog. Her “mom” and Star Island’s honorary queen is Gloria Estefan.
After three decades of performing her rumba-tinged pop tunes and soulful ballads, the Cuban American songstress—with three Grammys, 30-plus top-10 singles, and 70 million albums sold—retired from touring late in 2004. But that didn’t slow her. She recorded a blues duet with B.B. King and is working with singer Connie Francis on a film based on Francis’s life. And when editors at Rayo, a division of HarperCollins, suggested she write a children’s book, she already had a story to tell.
| She cracked open the backstage door to the singer’s beloved world of animals, the creatures who have inspired so many of her charitable works |
As a three-month-old immigrant puppy, Noelle survived a near-fatal bout with a canine virus. But once healthy, she braved the wilds of the Estefan menagerie, struggling to fit in among a fast pack of Dalmatians and a snarky bunch of birds.
As fortunate as the three-year-old bulldog has been, Noelle has also been bearing gifts since arriving at Casa Estefan. She has brought a streak of excitement, a brood of eight puppies, and inspiration in the form of rhymes penned by her superstar mom.
With those rhymes, Noelle delivered a gift to Estefan’s fans: she cracked open the backstage door to the singer’s beloved world of animals, the creatures who have inspired so many of her charitable works.
The rhymes grew during long car rides and workout sessions, eventually becoming The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog, released in October. The story—packaged with the CD single “Noelle’s Song”—is in English and Spanish.
“I wanted it to be like a lullaby,” says Estefan. “Everything was inspired by a real event.”
A gifted lyricist, Estefan has a knack for turning a phrase. The tough part, she says, was translating the rhymes into Spanish and making them fit the illustrations and space.
“But I love challenges, and it was just so much fun to do,” says the 48-year-old.
She hears familiar howls coming from the kitchen. It’s the canine (and off-key) version of her Miami Sound Machine. The chorus is made up of five aging Dalmatians and four younger English bulldogs. The loudest is 15-year-old Ricky, one of two Dalmatians Estefan adopted after a harrowing bus crash on a snowy highway that nearly killed her in 1990.
During excruciating rehab sessions, she learned to walk again, her broken spine fortified by two eight-inch titanium rods. Her husband, music mogul Emilio Estefan, cared for her and helped her take baby steps. But it was Ricky and his sister Lucy, who died three years ago, who coaxed her to chase and play with them.
Like Gloria, Ricky is tough as nails. His spirit remains hearty though his legs have given out. Estefan dotes on him, wheeling him around on a kitchen cart. From his perch, Ricky looks out on the rest of the band: his young’uns, Holly and Tiny, both 11; Lucy’s son, Redford, 13; and Redford’s daughter, Chica, 7. Then there are the bulldogs: petite Noelle and her year-old pups—Isaac, Biggie, and La Niña—who now seem to dwarf her.
| Doting mother to 11-year-old Emily and 25-year-old Nayib, Estefan has fostered a love of animals in her children |
And last, there’s the peanut gallery: a talkative African gray parrot named Cosmo, an orange-bellied parrot named Daiquiri, four love birds, and two cockatiels.
When Noelle first came into the fold, Cosmo, a master mimic who whistles “¡Ven, Mami!” whenever Estefan is near, taunted the puppy to no end. One day he emptied his food bowl and hurled it at her. “It was like he aimed for her head and tried to nail Noelle with that metal bowl,” laughs Estefan. “He was jealous.”
Estefan's fondness for birds has led to donations and visits to local rescue groups, including a wildlife rehabilitation center.
“We’re in a position where we can help, and not just in the monetary way. Sometimes you lend your face. I just feel a strong connection,” she says. That connection is not just to animals, but also to people in need. Her Gloria Estefan Foundation addresses the problems of disadvantaged children, and her philanthropic work is especially generous with spinal cord research. “Whenever I get word of something, I try to help out however I can.”
Doting mother to 11-year-old Emily and 25-year-old Nayib, Estefan has fostered a love of animals in her children. Nayib has his own English bulldog, who sired Noelle’s pups. Emily helped the family during Noelle’s cesarean section delivery, warming the puppies and keeping vigil over them.
“We were living in the playroom with the puppies for weeks, but we loved it,” says Estefan, whose home zoo once included a pair of wallabies, a type of small kangaroo. “I just have a real affinity for animals.”
With that, the singer heads for the kitchen. Her band is waiting.
Return to Top
