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Gloria Estefan: 'I've cried more this year than in my entire lifetime'


UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2019 8:53 AM EST

The rhythm of Gloria Estefan’s new musical hasgotten her! The Grammy winner along with her husband Emilio Estefan sat downwith Katie Couric to discuss their new Broadway musical, On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan.

"I've cried more this year than in myentire lifetime,” Gloria admitted on the Yahoo show. You see your lifeunfolding, but it’s almost as if I'm watching someone else’s story.”

Gloria and Emilio have been married since 1978 Photo: WireImage

Having sold millions of albums and won seven Grammy Awards, the 58-year-old said, "I think at this point we've lived enough and gone through some stuff that we can tell a story like that."

Emilio added, "[The musical is] very much about minorities and dreams and people who say this will never happen. It's the perfect time to put out something that will inspire a lot of people."

When it came time to cast the star of the show, the singer revealed they had seen 3,000 girls for the part, but when she saw Ana Villafañe, who ended up snagging the role, Gloria said, "It was like one of those things. I think my soul recognized her."

The two Glorias' connection extends well beyond the New York musical itself. Both Ana and Gloria, who are of Cuban descent, attended the same Catholic all-girls high school in Miami. Meanwhile, Emilio agreed the young man who portrays him on stage, Josh Segarra, is sexy and "got [him] down packed."

Josh and Ana play the couple on Broadway Photo: Getty Images

The hit new musical, features the “biggestHispanic cast in the history of Broadway," telling the story of the singer’s lifein Miami and Gloria's road to success from the Miami Sound Machine, along withobstacles she faced, including the 1990 bus accident which almost left her paralyzed.

Through it all, Gloria told Katie she never feltlike giving up. She said, “I thought, ‘Maybe this is the whole point of mehaving gone through fame. Maybe my actual job is going to be having people allover the world see that you can get past something. That you — somethinghappens to you, and it all depends on how you deal with it.”

WATCH THE INTERVIEW BELOW