Armando & Dina Rizo

How we joined Conga:
We have been Conga members for almost a year now, since we first saw Gloria in concert together last Spring 06. Gloria held a special concert that not many people were aware of since it was in conjection with a private auction to benifit the Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning Foundation. My husband Armando found out about it and surprised me with the concert tickets. Although I grew up in S. FL the majority of my life, I had never gotten to see Gloria in concert. That night, we waited a while but Glo finally took the stage and WOW...she looked and sounded fabulous. We were fortunate enough to "sneak" down the stands to the floor area and got to stand at the edge of the stage for the entire show!

For those of you who were not there, Gloria was awesome!! Not only did she walk up and down the stage (which was this long cat-walk out to the audience), she took time to shake everyones hand, and even posed for pictures in the middle of singing (we didnt have a camera, darn it). She was so gracious and radiantly beautiful. Afterwards, we followed the crowd next door to Bongo's Cuban Cafe (Gloria's restarant) and at the bar, met Conga member Bob Meade, whom we recognized from Gloria's concert Unwrapped on DVD. He told us about Conga and the great group of people involved and we joined the family. We later found out Gloria and Emilio showed up at Bongo's that evening but we had left just prior! (Double darn)!

Our love-story:
My husband and I have special ties to Gloria (although she doesn't know it). We first met in what I call a "divine pit-stop" on the road of life. I began working as a Personal Assistant to a GM of a local building company. The boss was very over-bearing and unpleasant to say the least. I lasted a couple of months there, just long enough to meet the love of my life, Armando. He worked in the adjacent building for a different dept. Our jobs did not overlap at all, but somehow we found ourselves interacting and friends. We shared a lunch or two and had a nice rapport, but no bells went off immediatley. Armando was born in Cuba and had lived all over S. FL.

After I left that job, Armando and I kept in touch and he offered to take me to lunch and show me around Miami. Well, lunch turned into a whole day of talking, laughing, window shopping at Lincoln Rd, buying Band-Aids at Bayside...cuban coffee break in the afternoon and finally we wound up at Bongo's...Gloria's restaurant. We ate dinner and danced the salsa like nobody was watching. We shared our first kiss outside on the patio steps. Two years later, we were married. I became an instant step-mother to two wonderful boys, Devin now 16 and Brandon 14. For our wedding CD we chose Gloria's "Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan" (With the Years That I Have Left) and our wedding dance was to Jon Secada's "Lost Inside of You". I love the wedding photo of us peeking back from the inside of our chauffered cadillac, it's just like the one of Gloria and Emilio on their wedding day at: http://www.gloriaestefan.com/

Favorite Pastimes:
We love music and food! We love to cook and have family over for a pig-roast or Italian feast. We also enjoy going out to eat and catching a jazz show or local conert. (Gloria, Jon Secada, BB King, Bon Jovi, Dave Koz...we have a variety of muscial tastes...). We also like to go to the Improv to see live comics, or see a play or musical. We have luckily gotten to see several great shows and plays in the area by winning tickets off the radio. We are looking forward to meeting other S. Florida Conga members as well as those from other states.

Meeting Gloria:
Armando has met Gloria once and luckily on his birthday (see pic). We are hoping to take a picture of us together with Gloria someday soon! (Hint....)

Thank you Gloria:
Thank you for being a great (very understated), REAL person. Famous or not--your life is a true example of grace, courage, inspiration and love. Thanks for your generosity in helping others less fortunate as well as for your dedication and love for the Cuban community and all of S. Florida --as well as this world. You Glo girl!

Love, D&A