She's next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening. Welcome to another edition of LARRY KING LIVE.

Last Friday, a new movie opened "Music of the Heart," from Miramax. It stars Meryl Streep and our guest for the hour tonight, the brilliant Latin pop artist Gloria Estefan.

What a great pleasure to have you with us. I thank you very much.

GLORIA ESTEFAN, ENTERTAINER: Thank you. It's nice to be back. It's great.

KING: What was it like to do a movie?

ESTEFAN: Well, I've been waiting quite a while to do it. And honestly, I loved it even more than I thought I would. It was really -- in my situation, low pressure, because usually when I do live shows, you do it, there's no second take, there's no...

KING: You do it, and that's it.

ESTEFAN: You do it, and it's done, and especially when you do live TV in front of billions sometimes, people at Super Bowls, something like that. So it was really relaxing. I prepared a lot. And Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman, who I love, they made it so easy. They really made it easy.

KING: A story about a music teacher in east Harlem, right?

ESTEFAN: Yes, it is. It's a true story. And Wes Craven -- it's his first non-horror genre film, which really drew me to this whole thing, because I've followed his movies

KING: When I saw the trailer and I thought Wes Craven? Wes Craven is going to do a horror film with Gloria and Meryl?

ESTEFAN: When they called and they said -- because it was called "50 Violins." And I thought, Wes Craven? "50 Violins"? Are they going to be slitting people's throats with a horse-hair bow? I thought I'd be killed off in the first five minutes.

KING: Who do you play?

ESTEFAN: I play the best friend actually. who because the best friend of Meryl Streep's character, Roberta, who is the violin teacher. And I was a second-grade teacher in Spanish Harlem. It's an actual person that exists, that is still her best friend, and I gave her like the first good feelings about being in the school. Everybody shunned her and didn't want anything to do with her, and I gave her a gung-ho attitude, and that was the whole...

KING: She teaches this in a minority school and troubles develop over it, right?

ESTEFAN: Yes. What happens is, she comes into New York from a divorce and doesn't know what to do. She's a violin teacher, a private teacher, and she had 50 violins that she taught kids with in Greece, where she was. So a friend hooks her up with a very avant garde public school, saying talk to them, set up a program. So she talks the principle into putting this program together, but the funding gets cut for the program, which happens all over the country constantly.

KING: Fortunately.

ESTEFAN: People don't realize how much that happens. Yes, unfortunately.

Another thing that drew me to the movie, because I've been working with Save the Music for so long, the Grammy committee, and it's all about keeping music programs in the schools. So she goes in the school, sets it up, and it's all about how she keeps the program going by doing a concert, which they eventually called Fiddle Fest, and they invited Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman, who are also in the movie, replaying their roles.

KING: There's a lot of good music in this.

ESTEFAN: A lot of great music.

KING: You don't get to sing, though, do you?

ESTEFAN: Well, I actually did the end-title track for the movie. After I had done the movie, they asked me if I would like to participate, and I thought, well, as long as it's not in the movie, so it doesn't pull people out of the character I am doing, and all of a sudden, they remember me the singer, but at the very end, the title credits, with 'N Sync. It's done great.

KING: And this movie opened last Friday. It's called "Music of the Heart." We'll talk about it again later, and lots to talk about with Gloria.

But do you like acting?

ESTEFAN: I love it.

KING: Why?

ESTEFAN: I really love it. First, it's an evolution for me. I think musicians have been thrust into acting because of videos. We can't get away from it. Whether you like it or not, you have to do videos. And some of us, as I have done through the years have just found an attraction to doing more of this type of thing. And I really enjoyed it, being someone else. It's harder when you carry baggage, because you have to convince people, first, it's not you, which is hard. The first few minutes I'm sure is weird. My family says it's weird see to you there, I'm used to seeing you on TV doing interviews, but not there. And then you're someone else. It's a challenge, a great challenge.

KING: Do you think it will do well? Now it's opened already, as we taped this last week for broadcast tonight. Because it sounds like the kind of movie that's a terrific movie, but could be in trouble in the light of "Fight Club."

ESTEFAN: Yes, well, that's true. But you know, in this country we need some balance. You know, it's great to have the movie, and violence -- it draws us. We all go see it. So obviously that's why they make movies of this nature. But we an also need to inspire kids, and especially with all the things we've gone through this year, the violence in the schools and -- we need to give them some positive messages. Perhaps they'll be curious. You know, it's a great cast. Wes Craven certainly has a big draw among kids.

KING: I just thought of something -- it's violins instead of violence.

ESTEFAN: That's right.

KING: Richard Dreyfuss did a very successful movie in the same kind of order, teaching kids.

ESTEFAN: Fantastic movie.

KING: Didn't you turn down "Evita?"

ESTEFAN: I did, but only because -- well, there were many factors.

KING: Why?

ESTEFAN: Well, to do a first thing, you know, a first acting experience, to carry the whole picture, to me is too much pressure. And honestly, right now, I only do things I really enjoy doing. I'm very busy, and I do many, many things, most of which people don't even know about, and that was going to be a tough thing for me. Secondly, it was a musical, completely top to bottom, and what I really wanted to do was do some acting.

KING: Opera really.

ESTEFAN: Yes. I wanted to start with a small role, which this definitely wasn't it. And Evita was a very controversial figure. I'm Hispanic. You don't have control over how these figures are presented. It was just not good for me, and I thought Madonna did a spectacular job. She really wanted that.

KING: The other side had to be, you had to lob love the songs.

ESTEFAN: Of course. No, the music is spectacular. The cinematography was beautiful. The movie ending up great.

KING: Banderas can sing.

ESTEFAN: Yes, he can sing. He's a great guy. Not only is he attractive...

KING: But no regrets over not doing it.

ESTEFAN: No, no, no. Believe me, that would have been hellish for me. And it was tough for Madonna too, because she found out she was pregnant during the movie. She had to be on location. It would have been a tough thing.

KING: You're going to do part of this millennium craze. You're tied to Miami, and we'll talk a lot about that. It's incredible. You're going to work there on New Year's Eve, right?

ESTEFAN: Oh, yes. You better believe it, because I want to be walking distance.

KING: Bay Front Park?

ESTEFAN: The brand new arena. It's opening there. So that's a little tough thing there, because the first night that anyone will ever play in the arena. And it's walking and boating distance from my house. Were anything to happen...

KING: You live right down there?

ESTEFAN: Yes, right near the arena, Star Island, a few blocks...

KING: Where Al Capone used to live.

ESTEFAN: Yes -- well, he lived on Palm, right next to it.

KING: Palm island, next island.

ESTEFAN: Yes, some history there. The Star as well. It was a manmade island, and really interesting history.

But I am thrilled about the show. It's going to be a lot of fun, big party.

KING: People are coming to eat and everything. It's a whole $6,000 a person...

ESTEFAN: No, no, not six, but you know, that night's an expensive ticket because it's expensive to put on a show. Everybody that's working that night is really charging top dollar, but they're going to see a jaw-dropping show. We really want people to be mesmerized, and we're going to do it for them.

KING: Gloria Estefan -- she's in her first movie, "Music of the Heart." It opened last Friday. She's a two-time Grammy winner, sensational performer, lots to talk about. And we'll be back with more after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MUSIC OF THE HEART")

MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: Is it my imagination, or does everybody here hate me?

ESTEFAN: It's hard to fit in when you're doing a special program. People figure you're not going to be here long, so they don't make the effort. It may take a while for folks to warm up, but they don't hate you.

STREEP: Why are you being so nice to me?

ESTEFAN: Ulterior motives -- I want my daughter in your class next year.

(LAUGHTER)

STREEP: If I'm here next year.

ESTEFAN: You will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Gloria Estefan. Your last album was an all-dance CD right, "Gloria?"

ESTEFAN: Yes, yes.

KING: And now you're doing, I understand, writing and recording a Spanish-language album.

ESTEFAN: Yes indeed. That's done. We're mixed as we speak. It's going to be released early next year, and I am thrilled.

KING: This is a -- Ricky Martin, hot -- you began all this, right?

ESTEFAN: I can't take the credit for that. If we think back to the '50s, Desi Arnaz was singing "Babaloo" in all the Americans home.

KING: We're in a Latin craze now at the end of the '90s, right?

ESTEFAN: Yes, Ricky Martin's hips, that's quite a craze right there, in those black leather pants. No, it's been great. I mean, you see artists like little Jennifer Lopez, Mark Anthony, who's an incredible Latin artist. And you're going to see a lot more. We've got a lot more to offer. This album...

KING: What is this album?

ESTEFAN: This album is straight -- it's actually a lot of fusion.. There's Cuban, there's Panamanian rhythms in there, but it's all in Spanish and really legit, not dance or anything...

KING: You wrote them.

ESTEFAN: No. Actually, I haven't written a lot on this album because Robert Blades, which is the brother of Ruben Blades, a very popular Hispanic actor and singer and writer has written some amazing songs for this album. And, you know, I'm very democratic. If somebody comes with great songs, I don't force my songs in there.

KING: Why do you think -- and, of course, it may be hard because you're so close to it -- why do you think we, the Anglo "we," love Latin music so much that we don't have to understand what the words mean?

ESTEFAN: I'll tell you, Spanish is a very sensual sounding language. It's got much fewer consonants than English, and it sounds, everything, very sweet. You could be insulting someone and it sounds very wonderful. And it's -- I think it evokes a feeling, a mood. That's what I try to do with "Mi Tierra." I wanted when people put that record on that feel something, and it didn't matter if you understood the lyrics or not, but it was something that made you -- transported you somewhere or made you feel something or think of something, remind you...

KING: But there's something about the Latin sound, isn't there?

ESTEFAN: Yes, there is. Well, it's very -- I think it goes into the most...

KING: Sensual.

ESTEFAN: Well, yes, but I think it also, because of the percussion, goes to our most primitive feelings about music. The first music there ever was was drums. That's the way we communicated. And I think that the percussion behind Latin music just makes you move. I don't think you have to understand it or dance to it or know what it is. It just makes you move. As a human being, I think we're still very drawn to the drums and that feeling.

KING: Is there also a type of music we could call Cuban music?

ESTEFAN: Yes.

KING: That is specifically related to that island?

ESTEFAN: There sure is, just as there is Dominican music. There's Puerto Rican music, which is a lot of what we hear from salsa, the tango from Argentina. Each country in Latin America has their own sound and folkloric music, and, of course, Cuban music as well. Cha cha is from Cuban. Soul -- what we call...

KING: Mambo? Is mambo still around?

ESTEFAN: Mambo -- well, mambo, of course it's around. You've got...

KING: Viga Puente (ph).

ESTEFAN: And you've got "Mambo Number Five" with Lou Vega that's on the top of the charts, mixed, fused, with dance music.

KING: Would you say that you're distinctly Cuban?

ESTEFAN: I think we mix a lot of rhythms because we work with a lot of different nationalities. I've done a whole record, the second Grammy I won was for Abriendo Puertas a lot of Colombian rhythms. And if you go to my studio, it's like the United Nations. We've got people from all over. So as long as there are rhythms we understand and they're true to us, we will experiment and use them where we feel they fit. But of course Cuban music to me is the most natural because I grew up with it, singing it for my grandma.

KING: Who came up with the Miami Sound Machine?

ESTEFAN: That was my husband, I have to say.

KING: You've been married how long now?

ESTEFAN: Twenty-one years.

KING: How did you meet?

ESTEFAN: Twenty-three together.

KING: How did you meet?

ESTEFAN: We met by coincidence. I played folk guitar in Masses, and we called him over...

KING: Where was this?

ESTEFAN: This was in Miami. He had a band called Miami Latin Boys at the time and was doing very well. And it was a hobby for him, too, because he had a day job. You know, he was an -- he ended up being an executive at Bacardi, and...

KING: Know the building.

ESTEFAN: Yes, it's a beautiful building.

KING: Biscayne Boulevard.

ESTEFAN: That's right.

KING: Blue and white canvas.

ESTEFAN: You'd -- boy, what a memory. But he would do this on the side. And he came to give us some pointers on how to get a little thing together for one party we were doing for our parents. He played the accordion, came in in these short little shorts -- I'll never forget that -- and he gave us some pointers, and I didn't see him for a few month. My mother drags me to a wedding. There's his band playing, and he's playing "Do the Hustle" on the accordion. I go, this guy's brave.

So they had so much charisma, he runs into me at the door, he goes, I remember you. Do you want to sit in with the band, sing a couple of songs? I go, well -- my mother goes, please. You know, they haven't heard you. I used to play guitar for these people all my life as a small child. And I sang with him. And he goes, look, I don't have a singer. Why don't you join?

KING: Did you hit it off right away?

ESTEFAN: I thought he was really cute and he was my boss. I didn't think he was going to be interested in me. But sure enough two weeks later he tracked me down. He goes, look, you don't have to quit school -- because I was going to the university, I had a full time job...

KING: Miami?

ESTEFAN: Yes, Miami, University of Miami. And I was working in immigration on a college work-study program for interpreting Spanish and French and English, because French was my minor. And I joined the band as a hobby, purely because I loved it. We worked weekend. We did a couple of rehearsals. I was very shy.

KING: And when did that blossom into what it blossomed into?

ESTEFAN: I'll tell you -- I remember because it was the bicentennial, July 4, '76...

KING: All those ships came into Miami.

ESTEFAN: Well, all those ships came in...

KING: I was there, out in the water.

ESTEFAN: That's right. Well, we were on -- we were playing at a place that looked like a ship but it was actually a building, this Florida ship which isn't there anymore, on the 79th Street Causeway...

KING: I know that ship.

ESTEFAN: That's right -- and he asked me to get some air on the third floor. And that day I had driven with him because he thought I'd be more safe because we were going to be out late. And he goes -- on the drive over, he goes, you know, I bet if we got married we'd get along really well. And I go, what's he talking about? He's never mentioned anything. He used to flirt a lot, though. And I, of course, was very shy.

KING: What did you say?

ESTEFAN: I said, what are you talking about? He goes, yes, our personalities would blend well. I made a joke of it. Later that night, he asked me to get some air and he told me it was his birthday -- which was a lie. His birthday is March 4th -- and he said, you know, give me a birthday kiss on the cheek.

ESTEFAN: I go, no, I'll get you a present. He said, just a little kiss on the cheek? I go, well, all right. I went and he turned his face and that was it. He got me with the oldest trick in the book.

KING: And 21 years.

KING: We'll be back with more of Gloria Estefan after this. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESTEFAN (singing): Get on your feet. Get up and make it happen. Get on your feet. Stand up and take some action. Get on your feet. Don't stop before it's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with Gloria Estefan.

Her film opened this past week, "Music of the Heart," from our friends at Miramax.

OK, so this combination, you and your husband, led to the Miami Sound Machine?

ESTEFAN: Yes, indeed. We changed the name to Miami Sound Machine because we weren't "boys" anymore when I joined the band. And he had a very strong and clear musical vision about what we wanted to do. And when I came into the band, they used to do only dance-type music and Cuban music, really old legit Cuban music. And I -- he said to me, have you ever written music? I said, well, I do parodies -- I used to do parodies all the time. And I still do of some of the stuff -- but I've never tried to do a serious song. I've done poetry. He says, why don't you try? I'd like to do some original songs. And I did.

I wrote -- the first song that I ever wrote we recorded. I've recorded everything I've written since. And because we were in Miami we had an audience that would accept both the totally Latin music, the totally Anglo music. So when we did our own music, it was very natural to use pieces and fuse things that worked. We didn't force it, but it was just natural for us because that's who we are. We're bicultural.

KING: And the Miami sound would be described as? Because it caused a wave across America.

ESTEFAN: My husband calls it rice and beans and hamburger, which I think is a great way to visualize it.

KING: That sounds a little Mexican.

ESTEFAN: Well, no. Rice and beans -- Mexicans eat beans, too, but they do them in a different way.

KING: They eat black beans.

ESTEFAN: Black beans and rice. You pour it over the rice and it's very Cuban.

KING: Southwest Eighth Street and...

ESTEFAN: That's right, Little Havana. And I think it's that mix, you know? That very unique city which is Miami.

KING: Where were you born?

ESTEFAN: I was born in Cuba, in Havana in...

KING: At what age did you come?

ESTEFAN: Two years old I was here, so that's...

KING: How old were you? Two years old? So you came right after...

ESTEFAN: Yes, in '59, right after the coup, because my father went...

KING: Your father worked for Batista?

ESTEFAN: My father actually wanted to be in the army. His father was a commandant in the army, but his father didn't want to be accused of nepotism, so he tore up all his applications. And being raised in a military family he really loved that. So he became a motorcycle policeman. And he was a very good-looking guy. So because he looked so good and was, you know, a great cop, they chose him to be Batista's wife's escort. He was what -- they confuse that all the time. He was an escort to the first lady's motorcade, and he was also a cop.

KING: So he wasn't Batista's bodyguard...

ESTEFAN: No, he wasn't.

KING: ... but he was a cop as well?

ESTEFAN: He was a cop. He was a cop.

KING: But when Castro came in he almost had to go right?

ESTEFAN: He had to go. I mean, they immediately jailed his father and him because he was working at the presidential palace the night the coup happened, and he came home and told my mother we're in deep trouble, you know, the president has just left.

They tried to make a go of it, they tried to do things, but they just could not -- they would not give him a job (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KING: Was he anti-Castro, particularly?

ESTEFAN: Oh, yes. They knew, you know. They knew very well the truth about Castro because they were involved.

KING: Did they also know the truth about Batista?

ESTEFAN: I am sure...

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)... he wasn't exactly...

ESTEFAN: I'm sure -- I'm sure they did.

KING: ... Mr. Smiles.

ESTEFAN: I mean, well, I don't think in Latin America in general we have a very good history of democracy. But definitely he had to have been informed. And he knew at that point that we didn't have a future there. He also knew that he wanted us to live in freedom. He took us out and then he went back in Bay of Pigs invasion and became a political prisoner for a couple years there.

KING: Didn't have to do that, did he?

ESTEFAN: No, but he was a very idealistic man. I mean, when he came back from Bay of Pigs he joined the U.S. Army and Vietnam came around. And he didn't have to go there.

KING: Went there too?

ESTEFAN: He volunteered in 'Nam because he says he wasn't going to send his men if he wasn't going to go, because he was the sole supporter who wasn't American, he didn't have to go, but he volunteered because he wanted to be with his men and he wanted to fight communism wherever it would be. He gave up his life really for that ideal and I love him for that. Obviously, we know a lot more things now and he made a big sacrifice.

KING: Where is he now?

ESTEFAN: He passed away in 1980. He came back from 'Nam with Agent Orange poisoning and he had a very long degenerative disease. We took care of him at home.

KING: Does that cause you bad feelings about...

ESTEFAN: No it doesn't.

KING: ... about this country, that war?

ESTEFAN: War in general causes me bad feelings because I really would hope that we would grow beyond that at this point and learn other ways to work out our differences, but it was his choice. I cannot be angry. It was his choice. He wanted to do it, and I think all human beings have to do that. You have to make your own choices.

KING: When he left Cuba, then, in those early days, that was easy to get out, right?

ESTEFAN: Oh yes.

KING: I mean, there was a wave of just -- they were letting them out.

ESTEFAN: For a little bit it was easier but they didn't let you take anything. I mean, at the airport they ripped up my mother's diplomas. They didn't even want her to take her education with her, and she had to start over again.

KING: No money -- whatever you carried you carried?

ESTEFAN: Nothing. That was it. Nothing.

KING: We'll talk about growing up the way you did.

We'll be back with more of the incredible story of a great talent, Gloria Estefan, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: You told The Times of London you still kept that little ticket you had?

ESTEFAN: I still have it, Pan Am, $21 -- obviously can't use it anymore.

KING: That was flight, $21?

ESTEFAN: I still have it. $21 round trip so I only used it one way. I still have it with my passport tucked away as a memento.

KING: And your mom?

ESTEFAN: My mom as well. She has all that stuff. She...

KING: Did she remarry?

ESTEFAN: No, no, never.

KING: They never, Cubans, though. One man...

ESTEFAN: Well, and she was very much in love with my father. And he was for a long time very ill. So there was -- and she had her daughters. I think once you have kids, women -- we concentrate...

KING: What was it like to grow up in Miami as -- well, you were two years old when you came so Miami is all you knew -- and a lot of times when we would interview people in Miami in their teens, they had no association with Cuba. I mean, they didn't want to go back -- go back to what? They didn't know Castro, Batista; they were American, they played football at Miami High.

ESTEFAN: That's right. Because I think the first wave of immigrants really wanted their kids to blend in and have an easier life but my mother was very, very patriotic woman and she kept Spanish as our main language. She taught me everything about Cuba. My culture was very prevalent in my home. The music -- I would play songs from the '20s and '30s for my grandmother on my guitar because she was my -- the only person that I didn't get nervous singing for so she kept things very strong. And also I lived in Texas because I was an army brat, when my dad joined the army. We lived in Texas and in South Carolina. And then stayed solidly in Miami after I was 10 years old.

KING: You pick up Cuban radio stations with that music?

ESTEFAN: Oh yes. Sure you do, mostly a lot of propaganda, not a lot of music gets played.

KING: Did you grow up hating Castro? Having -- what were your feelings growing up?

ESTEFAN: You know what, I don't hate anyone especially since I don't know the man. I hate what he's done to Cuba. I hate the fact that Cuba is stuck frozen in time. Ninety miles from our shores, people -- their rights are being abused left and right. They're not able to choose their government. They're not able to make their life -- economically make any choices, so that I don't like, you know. I just wish he'd get the picture but I don't think so.

KING: We recognize other countries we don't particularly like. Should we sit down with Cuba?

ESTEFAN: Well...

KING: I know that's a lot of discord in Miami right now.

ESTEFAN: I know. I know.

KING: With do you think?

ESTEFAN: I'll tell you this -- and quite honestly I am a person that loves to discuss and talk, and thinks that talking is the way, but in order to have a dialogue, you have to have some rules of dialogue that you're coming from the same -- at least the same position, and I honestly think it would be a waste of time to talk to him because I mean he's just not -- he's not all there.

And at this point there needs to be I think discussions over the dissident movement. I really don't see enough attention given to what's going on with the dissident movement in Cuba, which is becoming more strong every day. Recently four of them were jailed for five years for writing a manifesto called "The Homeland Belongs to All of Us," asking Fidel for, you know, freedom of speech and the right to vote.

They were put in jail and one of the women, Beatriz Roque, has now disappeared. She went on a hunger strike because they wouldn't give her an appeal. And they -- after, you know, they buckled under to pressure a little bit, and after she stopped her hunger strike because they said they were going to give her an appeal, she is now incommunicado. Her family can't get to her.

KING: How do you explain that he, Fidel Castro, is the longest leader of his country in the 20th century?

ESTEFAN: Yes indeed. Well, I think first of all being an island has a lot to do with it because you can control a lot more communication in that respect.

I think also that he has throughout the world fostered a kind of hatred for the United States because as you know, we're the superpower, the only one left at this point. And there's a lot of resentment about that all over the world. So I think people sometimes support him just because he gives the U.S. the -- you know, he snubs them and he doesn't care...

KING: How about in his own -- do you think it's easier for him to maintain?

ESTEFAN: Well, he's got a terrorist regime. If people see -- for example, in -- people don't know this -- but in every neighborhood in Cuba there is a family that is a member of the committee, the communist -- they have a name for that committee. So they watch everybody in the neighborhood. If they smell something cooking in your house that you're not supposed to have, if they see you having a reunion with people you're not supposed to be with, boom, they call the next section and say these people have suspicious activity. There are laws called laws of dangerousness that if they just assume you're dangerous, you can go to jail for -- with no trial, nothing. So it's -- people are afraid. They're petrified.

KING: And that's an easy way to keep people in check.

ESTEFAN: Of course, of course.

KING: Our guest is Gloria Estefan, the movie that she just opened "Music of the Heart" with Meryl Streep from Miramax, opened this past Friday. Back with more after the this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: I am going to take a hat. I am going to close my eyes. And I am going to pick just 50 names from each school because there isn't enough room for everybody else.

ESTEFAN: Well my daughter took violin with Roberta when she was your age. And now she's in high school and she still talks about how much she loved it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I really, really hope that I get in the class.

STREEP: I really hope you do too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Gloria Estefan. Was it true that you were invited back to sing for the pope?

ESTEFAN: Yes, I was. But...

KING: When the pope visited Cuba?

ESTEFAN: Well, the Vatican invited me. Cuba didn't invite me.

KING: So what's the difference? Why didn't you go?

ESTEFAN: I didn't go because, first all, to have to ask permission to go into my own country and to have to follow the rules of the government there, which I am totally opposed to, the way they run things there, was not my way. Secondly, I was going to be singing for a public that I was going to have to say something, and perhaps that would have caused some kind of, you know, violence or something, which I don't want to be a part of.

As a matter of fact, I spoke to the Dalai Lama. He asked me -- I told him, we both lost our countries in 1959, and he was asking me, would you go back if you were invited? And I told him that this might happen. And he says, you know, you're right, you know, violence is never a good way to solve things. And I was afraid that that would happen.

KING: Awfully hard for a Catholic, though, to get the chance to sing...

ESTEFAN: Well, I sang for his holiness at the Vatican for his 50th anniversary as a priest, right on the stage.

KING: So you got the opportunity.

ESTEFAN: Oh, yes. I had done that before then. And they understood. I mean, I told them, I didn't want to take attention away from his mission, which was important.

KING: Did you have mixed feelings? Were you proud that he went to your native land?

ESTEFAN: I was very happy he went, because the people needed him there, and that's his job. He is the head of a religion of which there are many people there. And he has to be totally apolitical. So it is his job to do that. But I am too political an image.

KING: How did you feel when the Lewinsky thing breaks while he's there and suddenly every reporter leaves?

ESTEFAN: I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it, that all of a sudden, here's a historic event, never to be repeated probably, and everybody high-tailed it back. But you know what? It says a lot about what we as a public want to say.

KING: Doesn't it?

ESTEFAN: Yes, so it's our fault.

KING: You're recently attended the White House summit on violence, right, and youth violence?

ESTEFAN: Yes.

KING: What got you interested in this, particularly?

ESTEFAN: Well, I think everyone, after Columbine something shifted in this country, and we were very upset. I know my friends and I, and especially good friend Rosie O'Donnell. I mean, she spent two weeks crying, and she called me, and we started calling each other; what can we do?

KING: She was here last week.

ESTEFAN: Exactly. And she's getting something together, which I'm going to be a part of that also will -- do something ourselves, because you can't wait sometimes for the government to get these things together. We as citizens have a lot of power.

And I think mothers, particularly women in this country, have to step forward and find ways to keep our children safe. We have to -- it has nothing to do with, you know, freedom or guns or anything. We have to find some way to make this country safer for our children. And as mothers, that is our prime concern, that's all we care about. It's a very hurtful thing to see. When I saw that, you get scared. All of our kids are in school. You think this could be me, and it's a very horrible situation.

KING: School should be a safe place.

ESTEFAN: Yes they should. They were when I grew up. I mean, when you were in school, you were safe, you were fine. The worst that could happen, you know, you injure yourself playing some sport, but now everybody is afraid. And public places were usually safe. You felt if you were out in public, you were all right. And now it's horrible.

KING: How old are your children?

ESTEFAN: I have a 19-year-old son, who has flown the coop already. He's out on his own and studying acting and film. We're very proud of him.

KING: Where?

ESTEFAN: In L.A. And a baby girl -- well, not a baby anymore. She'll be 5 in December.

KING: I saw her. She's beautiful.

ESTEFAN: So I have two only children. I've had the...

KING: Separated by 14 years. What happened? A little rift?

ESTEFAN: No. The accident that I had back in 1990 kind of slowed things down for me.

KING: Let's talk about that. What happened to Gloria?

ESTEFAN: Well, I kind of got sandwiched between two semis in a tour bus, which usually in a tour bus, you're pretty safe, but it was just one of those freak accidents.

KING: Where were you going?

ESTEFAN: We were on our way from New York City to Syracuse to do a show. We went through the Poconos, and there was a freak snowstorm.

KING: Mountains.

ESTEFAN: Yes.

KING: And the band was on the bus?

ESTEFAN: The band was on their bus. They were already there, because I had stopped, as a matter of fact, to meet President Bush. He had invited me to meet him, so we had made a stop in Washington, and we were on our way to the show, and I broke my back. We...

KING: What happened?

ESTEFAN: We got rear ended, full speed, fully loaded 18-wheeler.

KING: You were in the back of the bus?

ESTEFAN: I was in the front, taking a nap. And no one knows how I got injured, but I think I just folded over the little buffet table across the aisle, and I was paralyzed. I was lame.

KING: You were asleep when it hit?

ESTEFAN: I had just opened my eyes, because we had stopped the bus. There was an accident seven miles ahead, and traffic was backed up. And right when we stopped, I opened my eyes thinking, oh, we're here, and then I thought it was an explosion. That's what it felt like.

KING: You were in pain?

ESTEFAN: I was in a lot of pain, which gave me hope, because I knew because of my father's experience, that if I didn't feel anything, the cord would have been severed. So I was thankful for the pain. It was hard to get through, but I thought, OK, at least there's some hope here.

KING: You had a broken back?

ESTEFAN: Yes. I separated and blew apart two vertebrates and had some serious spinal cord damage, but they were able to put me back together with titanium reinforced.

KING: Your son was injured, too.

ESTEFAN: Yes he was. He broke a collarbone.

KING: He was nine then, right?

ESTEFAN: Nine years old. And he's what helped me get through that, because he was so scared, and, mommy, are you OK? Mommy, are you OK? And that made me hold on and really keep...

KING: How long were you laid up?

ESTEFAN: Well, I tell everybody that five months after the accident, I celebrated the day I was able to put my underwear on by myself. That's how long it took just to feel normal.

KING: Did you have any fear of not being able to sing?

ESTEFAN: I didn't care about that, Larry. The main thing to me after having been through my dad's experience -- he was in a wheelchair for many years. I didn't want my family to have to deal with that kind of thing, and I was just worried about being independent and having my, you know, body back, and I knew I'd deal with the singing part when it came, or if it did.

KING: Back with more of the incredible Gloria Estefan after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: "Music of the Heart" opened this past Friday with our guest, Gloria Estefan and Meryl Streep. It's from Miramax, and it's a true story.

You had another accident, right? A boating accident?

ESTEFAN: Yes, that was very tough, too, as well.

KING: Boy, the gods faded with you. What happened there?

ESTEFAN: In vehicles, I'm telling you. You know, I have got -- taken three courses. I'm a navigator, I'm a pilot, seamanship, the whole thing, because I want to be safe. But sometimes things happen where, especially in Florida, there's no boating laws, and a lot of people rent wet bikes or, you know, these type of vehicles. And they don't have any training and they don't know really how these things function. And a young man just tried to cut right in front of our boat, and he, instead of stop -- you know, instead of giving it gas, when you take the gas off you can't steer those things. And then when he realized he couldn't move out of the way, he gunned it and went under. And there was nothing we could do.

KING: And what happened to our Gloria?

ESTEFAN: Oh, my gosh. That was the most horrendous. It was worse than my accident for me, Larry, because he lost his life. And his mother wanted to speak to me the day after this happened. That is the single most difficult thing I ever had to do. But I...

KING: Even though it wasn't your fault?

ESTEFAN: Yes, and she knew it. But I knew as a mother what she wanted to hear. And I needed to be there to be able to say it to her. And oddly enough, trying to comfort her she ended up comforting me throughout this entire thing. And after that happened, I felt it was important that if this young man was going to lose his life, it was going to be such a public thing that I try to get some boating laws passed, which we've been trying to do for years. All boaters want the laws. We want people to be safe, you know? We don't want people driving around...

KING: Anyone can drive a boat, though, right?

ESTEFAN: Anyone. Right now, the law that was passed that we got through, if you're 16 or under you have to take a course. I think everyone should have to. You have to take a driving test to drive a car, and in Florida, the water is just like the roadways.

KING: You were not injured?

ESTEFAN: I was not injured. No we were going, like, not even 15 miles an hour. The boat was going very slowly. It's just that propellers are a very dangerous thing. He went right under, and there was just nothing we could do.

KING: One more thing on the violence, and then I want to discuss some other areas. Do you think that your industry is part of this trouble? The music of the industry, the films of the industry?

ESTEFAN: I think all of us are responsible to some degree. Parents, when we don't supervise our children enough, video games are very violent, movies have become violent. But they reflect our society. I think music particularly reflects the feelings of the youth.

KING: Doesn't lead it, it reflects it?

ESTEFAN: I don't think so. I think it reflects it, but at the same time I think we have to be responsible and know, to me, the images we put out in the media are like mass meditation. These are things that everyone is watching, everyone is thinking about. And I truly believe that thoughts create reality. So the more we involve ourselves in violence, the more we're going to see.

KING: We have to talk about it. This conference is a good idea, right? At least we're trying.

ESTEFAN: We have to try something. I mean, obviously a lot of rhetoric sometimes, but you know what? Private citizens are doing things. And I think it has to be a grassroots effort. I think all of us have to make an effort in our own communities, in our schools. It's got to start from the family out and everybody take responsibility with what they do.

KING: I want to get this right -- and this was reported last year in "The Times of London," so I want to make sure I have it right.

ESTEFAN: Yes, make sure about that.

KING: Even they can be wrong. You became involved in exile politics when you intervened on behalf of an Anglo woman who was fired from her post on the local arts board in Miami. The woman suggested Miami should end its ban on Cuban-based artists performing at city- sponsored events. You sent a letter to the "Miami Herald" defending her right to speak her mind. Right-wing Cuban exiles really slammed her on local radio shows -- and there's no wilder right-wing radio. You think that national right-wing is wild. Listen, the Cuban right- wing radio in Miami...

ESTEFAN: We're passionate.

KING: Passionate?

ESTEFAN: We're passionate about everything. You can't...

KING: Circle the wagons.

ESTEFAN: If your passionate about life in general, and Cubans, we tend to be very passionate, politics are very...

KING: You've got harsh words for them. So give me the story.

ESTEFAN: Well, you know what? There comes a moment in your life when you have to stand up for something. And, you know, at the university, I studied a whole semester of literature of the Holocaust. And I would cry every day in that class. And the one thing I learned was that silence is the biggest evil that can exist, because then a lot of things flourish that shouldn't.

When this happened, it wasn't so much the whole thing about the musicians or anything. What really bothered me was that this woman was fired for her opinion. And that to me said a lot. And these politicians were catering to voters that they thought, you know, was their constituents. And I was one of the constituents. And I knew I was going to open a can of worms by sending that letter, but I could not look myself in the mirror every day and say, you know, how could you let this go by? It bothered you so much, you have to speak up.

And I did. And, of course, a free-for-all ensued, which was great for the city because it let off a lot of pressure. I am, like, a very loved image to the Cubans, and I had an opinion that perhaps to some of them wasn't popular with them. And at the same time a lot of dialogue was created, a lot of things happened that were good. KING: Did she lose her job?

ESTEFAN: She lost her job there, but I think that it was an important moment. I think that it really helped.

KING: We'll pick up on that and artists performing in a minute with Gloria Estefan.

Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESTEFAN (singing): Rhythm is going to get you. The rhythm is going to it you. The rhythm is going to get you. The rhythm is going to get you -- tonight. No way, you can find it every day. But no matter what you say, you know it. The rhythm is going to get you. No clue of what's happening to you. Before this night is through, hey, baby, the rhythm is going to get you, get you, get you, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: What about -- shouldn't artists, no matter what the government of that country is -- the Bolshoi ballet during the height of the Cold War toured the United States. What's wrong with artists performing? Why would Cubans in Miami be upset over Cubans coming over to sing? That's a little wacko.

ESTEFAN: Miami is -- as you know, you live there -- there's a very heavy concentration of Cuban exiles, a lot of which are still the Cuban exiles that suffered directly at the hands of Fidel Castro.

KING: What's that got to do with artists?

ESTEFAN: I'll tell you. I'll tell you what I think. I mean, this is purely my opinion, of course.

KING: OK.

ESTEFAN: I think that if the United States allows someone to come in, Miami should be part of the picture, obviously. We're in the United States. I have grown up with a very democratic background. I live here, so I understand it completely. It's difficult for them sometimes, because artists -- for example, the last thing that happened there with Van Ban (ph) -- these are artists that tour the world and never say one thing about what's going on in Cuba. They stay out of politics, which is their choice and their right to do so. That's my only concern. I think if I was in that position, I would use that opportunity. Of course, they have family back there that could be, you know -- things could be done to them if they speak out.

At the same time, there's some very raw wounds in Miami. But they did play. That, you know, I'm happy to say is an American...

KING: And the baseball team played the Orioles.

ESTEFAN: You know, I've got to say something about that, though, because as an American what bothered me was that our rights of protest were infringed upon in that game. There were mothers that were dressed in black simply holding pictures of the sons they had lost, and they were taken out of that game. They were not allowed to protest. There were a lot of things that should be given the right of protest...

KING: Got banned quid pro quo.

ESTEFAN: ... and only because there was like 300 of Castro's people there, they should be able to see what this country is about, too.

KING: You going to run for -- you know, you going to run for mayor? Come on.

ESTEFAN: No, no.

KING: Come on, enter the Reform Party. Run...

ESTEFAN: Oh, gosh, no. You know what? Politics is such a machine that...

KING: Well, I mean, there's no stranger than Miami.

ESTEFAN: No, I know, but I think...

KING: You get elected, you get indicted, you pass on.

ESTEFAN: As a private citizen, we have so much power that we can make a difference. And I think that I'll leave the politicians to the politics. And things like this to me are important, because I feel as a human being and part of the world, I need to -- and especially a celebrity -- we have great, you know, opportunity to speak out when we see an injustice done, and we -- we'll always do that. But politics is just not my bag.

KING: That volatile element in the Cuban -- in Miami, isn't that getting older?

ESTEFAN: Of course. And you know, it's the passing of the torch. We have a generation there that has grown up with a history of democracy, but as we were discussing before, the people that grew up in Cuba, they never really had what was a true, true democracy.

KING: They didn't under Batista either.

ESTEFAN: No. Under nobody, under no one have they had that. And I understand them as well. I mean, I love these people. They're passionate about it. But there comes a moment, where -- we cannot repeat the same mistakes that were done in Cuba, and we have to learn from that. And that's why I feel wonderful sometimes to see horrendous things, such as the KKK and neo-Nazis be able to voice their opinion, because that's going to ensure that I can voice mine, and I want my children to see the face of ignorance. I want them to know what, you know, opinions there are and what things are not the way they should be, and the only way that you can do that is to be able to view it all, and that's beauty of this country, and I will defend it forever, because that's what I came here...

KING: Someone said the one thing that separates this country from almost every other is the First Amendment.

ESTEFAN: That's right, and we have to protect that no matter what. And that's why what happened in Miami was important, because, yes, it was protests. And we can't forget also that Castro has a lot of people infiltrated in there. He loves that. He loves to stir that up. So sometimes even when the exiles are fine, you'll have a couple of people that are still working for Castro that dig things up to make things look, you know, worse than they really are. And I was happy -- as an American, I was happy that they were able to play there. As a Cuban, of course, it opens wounds and it hurts people, but we have to be able to take that pain in order to share freedom. There's no other way.

KING: Back with our remaining moments with the wonderful Gloria Estefan after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Gloria Estefan, who has won two Grammys, two American Music Awards, several Billboard awards. She's released 11 albums all together. All have gone multiplatinum. She's sold about 80 million albums total. Her new film, "Music of the Heart," opened last Friday.

Are you going to do another movie?

ESTEFAN: I would love that, and actually this is my 20th album coming out, but the first seven didn't count, because most people didn't hear them. They were the Spanish and mixed. I would love to do another movie, and I would love to continue to grow in this respect, you know small roles, nice characters, things that are fun, and interesting and exciting to do. I really love it, so I'd love to do more.

KING: And the partnership with the husband, that has worked.

ESTEFAN: It has worked.

KING: That can be difficult, or is it a plus that you work together?

ESTEFAN: It's a plus. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, because people think we're together all the time. And it's quite the opposite. He sometimes is doing his own thing. He's got a million artists that he's producing and doing things with. I handle other things that he doesn't care about, you know, like the estate planning and things of that nature that -- he's very creative. I love that stuff.

KING: You do. You like it.

ESTEFAN: I love it. And we have a great balance.

KING: You do the will?

ESTEFAN: I do all of that stuff, the finances. Of course we all decide everything together. But I'll go to him, and he's doing -- really busy. He can't fit one more thing in his schedule and I love that stuff. So we balance each other out, and it's worked really well.

KING: Is it easy basing out of Miami?

ESTEFAN: It's great for us. I think our music would not have been what it is if we had grown up anywhere else. It's such a great city, international flavor, and the climate that I love. I really love that place. It's fantastic.

KING: Your goal is to sing in Cuba someday, is it not?

ESTEFAN: That would be my dream, a free Cuba...

KING: Do you have a place you want to sing?

ESTEFAN: The -- what they call now "La Plaza de la Revolution," the Revolution Plaza, where the pope gave that mass. My dream would be to give a big giant concert in a free Cuba, and hopefully while I can still dance a conga, because after a while it's going to get a little, you know, difficult for me.

KING: Is dancing still a big part of your act, with the broken back?

ESTEFAN: Oh, yes. I am in better shape than I ever was, even before the accident, because of all the working out I do because of it. So I'm cool. I can do pretty much anything.

KING: Do you ever think of not working?

ESTEFAN: Well, you know, there's going to come a time when that happens. I'm able to enjoy because of, you know, the luxuries that we have in this business, that I can take my family with me wherever I go. I still love what I do. And as long as I'm doing what I love, I'll keep doing it.

KING: Is radio still as important in the Latin story as well as selling records?

ESTEFAN: Sure. Radio is there for everybody. That's what gets the message out to the people.

KING: In other words, if your record isn't played on the air, it don't move. The videos move it too, don't they?

ESTEFAN: Fortunately for me, after so many years, I have a really hardcore fan base...

KING: That will buy any album you make?

ESTEFAN: That will buy -- as long as I continue to stay true to myself, because that's got to come first. As an artist, you have to do what you care about, and never try to follow trends. And my fans have been with me there all along. I've nurtured that relationship, and that's there.

But obviously, if you have a radio hit, more people hear you, you know.

KING: How'd you like doing the duet with Sinatra?

ESTEFAN: I loved it. And I got to go to dinner with him and spend some time. He's an amazing man.

KING: Is it hard to sing with a recording? Because he wasn't there when you did the song?

ESTEFAN: No, but it's much easier actually. It's much more difficult when you have a duet situation to work out parts and do things at the same time. So even when you're with a person in the same room, you have to sit down and say, OK, you're going to do this first, you...

KING: Must be hoot, though, to hear yourself singing with the man.

ESTEFAN: Are you kidding me? It's a thrill for any performer, at any time, definitely.

KING: Thank you, darling.

ESTEFAN: Thanks, Larry. Thanks a lot.

KING: Gloria Estefan, big league lady.

The movie is "Music of the Heart." It opened this past Friday. It's playing everywhere from Miramax. We thank her for joining us.

We'll see you tomorrow night. On behalf of the crew here in Washington and all our CNN folks around the world, for Gloria and yours truly, Larry King, stay tuned for CNN "NEWSSTAND," and good night.