ET spoke with Estefan about her exciting new movie, ahead of the 'Latin GRAMMY Celebra Ellas y Su Música' event.
Gloria Estefan is ready to get back on the big screen alongside Andy Garcia!
The multi-GRAMMY winner and the actor will co-star in the Father of the Bride remake, set to be directed by Gaz Alazraki. Estefan couldn't contain her excitement about the project while talking with ET's Nischelle Turner, ahead of the Latin GRAMMY Celebra Ellas y Su Música event.
"Imagine me! I get to finally be with Andy. We're going to be married in the movie. And the script is so funny," she exclaimed. "They sent it to me and I'm in the middle of shooting Red Table [Talk] and getting all that together, and I'm going, 'Oh my god! I have to, I need to, work this out so I can be in this!'"
The upcoming Latinx rendition of Father of the Bride will tell the story of a father coming to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American family. Estefan previously worked with longtime friend Garcia in the 2000 drama For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story.
Estefan made sure to work around her Red Table Talk: The Estefans filming schedule to be able to be a part of the project after Garcia and Alazraki reached out to her.
"The first thing was Andy texting me, 'Oye, I'm doing this movie and you've got to be in it!' I go, 'When is it shooting, Andy? No, beginning of June?' I go, 'No, Andy! That's right when I'm shooting!' He goes, 'I'm going to send you the script.'"
"Then I got a beautiful email with a letter from the director telling me how much he really wanted me in this role, that he'd seen me do a bunch of stuff and it was so lovely. And then they sent me the script and when I read it, I go, 'I have to do this! It's so good!'" she exclaimed about writer Matt Lopez's work. She also added that she loved the director's style. "It's very heartwarming and comedy, he really does it in a beautiful way. I really needed to be a part of that movie. So I'm so happy and very excited it's about to start rolling very soon."
With the reboot focusing on a Cuban American family, Estefan shared that she hopes viewers feel "the warmth and the love that Latin families have for each other. The extended family, how everybody's involved, how everybody sticks our two cents where they belong or don't belong."
"The comedy is really, really well written and I think it's got a really beautiful message too. The groom is Mexican and his family's Mexican, and there's the Cuban side of the bride," she added. "Hopefully celebrate cultures in a wonderful, warm, deep way that doesn't stick to stereotypes... A film should be good no matter what culture is being talked about, and that makes me happy because hopefully people will identify with it...Get ready baby, that's gonna be crazy!"
Andy Garcia had previously talked about the project while promoting his new show, Rebel. The actor told ET's Rachel Smith last month that the Latinx twist was the major reason he joined the project.
"Here's another opportunity that came my way, again exploring that element of my culture. We are all big fans of Father of the Bride. I think it's a great movie," Garcia expressed. "We watched all of them from the [Spencer] Tracy version to the Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Marty Short version. These are quite different films. But I'm very excited about it. We're in the process of building the cast as we speak. We have a great director and a great producing team Plan B. And I'm excited about it. We'll go right from the end of this over to Georgia and Miami to shoot it."
Meanwhile, fans of the 63-year-old singer will be able to watch her take the stage during the Latin Recording Academy and Univision's television special, Celebra Ellas y Su Música. The event, airing Sunday on Mother's Day, will include musical legends and rising artists as they gather to celebrate those who paved the way and inspired new generations, through unforgettable musical performances and never-before-told personal stories.
Estefan is "really honored," to be part of the celebration, telling ET, "They're doing a tribute to my music and I am performing with some wonderful singers and it's really great. I'm having a blast!"
Viewers will also get a spectacular performance of Miami Sound Machine's "Conga."
"You're going to get a little nugget of 'Conga,' but yeah the arrangements are spectacular, they've done really a beautiful job with the music. There's a medley and I shall be joining some wonderful artists up on that stage, and I'm just thrilled," Estefan teased. "We are really honored. It's an amazing arrangement that they've done with some of my tunes."
"Women have contributed so much to music in general on the planet but more recently in the past few decades," Estefan added. "Rarely do we get to celebrate women and what they've done and the beautiful music they've created. So it's really a special show and I hope it keeps happening because it's phenomenal what they've done. Univision has done a spectacular job in putting this together. We are in a brand new theater here in South Florida that is spectacular and so beautiful. It is going to be a very special night."
Celebra Ellas y Su Música airs Sunday, May 9 at 8 p.m. on Univision.
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