90 Millas - Album Information

Album Information

The album, with 14 brand new tracks, is a tribute to the music of Estefan's native Cuba, following on from her previous Cuban-influenced album, 1993's multi-platinum Mi Tierra. 90 Millas has been described as Estefan's love letter to the people of Cuba, and her beloved country.

Carlos Santana made a guest appearance on the album, which also included several other legends of traditional Latin music such as: Andy García, Jose Feliciano, Cachao, La India, Candido Camero, Sheila E., Johnny Pacheco, Papo Lucca, Sal Cuevas, Giovanni Hidalgo, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D'Rivera, Nelson Gonzalez, Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, Generoso Jimenez, Luis Enrique, and Orestes Vilato.

The album was released worldwide in September 2007. The track listing was different in certain countries, and the European version and the Limited Edition Package (which was released exclusively in United States and United Kingdom) have two bonus tracks; "Vueltas Da la Vida" and "No Llores" (featuring Wisin & Yandel). The Japanese release also features "Vueltas Da la Vida" as well as "Al Verte Partir", a track exclusive to this version.

The first single, "No Llores", features a collaboration with Carlos Santana, Jose Feliciano, and Sheila E. Estefan had mentioned Santana and Feliciano as pioneers of Latin music in the 60s and 70s, and that having them collaborate with her on "No Llores" was "a thrill and a privilege." The single was released to American radio-stations on June 18, 2007, and released digitally on iTunes the day after. The single was also scheduled for a physical release in Europe in August 2007, but was later canceled for unknown reasons. A second single was released, "Me Odio", but as a promotional single to U.S. radio stations. The track "Píntame De Colores" was released as a single in Europe, and later as a promotional single in the U.S.

The inclusion of Carlos Santana on the album stirred a controversy among certain Cuban exiles in the U.S. who alleged Santana was sympathetic to the Fidel Castro regime and Che Guevara because he had worn a t-shirt featuring Guevara's image created by Jim Fitzpatrick. Emilio and Gloria Estefan issued a joint statement in March 2007, addressing the controversy:

"For the past 32 years of our career, our position against the Castro regime has been crystal clear . . . we have expressed our disagreement with the Cuban dictatorship and have spoken worldwide of the pain of the Cuban people. We have never nor would we ever collaborate with anyone who supports the Cuban dictatorship or Che Guevara. This should be abundantly clear due to our trajectory".

90 Millas made it to the 2007 Billboard Year-End Charts", and ranked #28 at the Billboard Top Latin Albums, and #4 at the Top Tropical Albums. In April 2008, Estefan was the winner of two Billboard Latin Music Awards beating other artists such as Olga Tañon and Fanny Lú in the race for the "Tropical Album Of The Year — Female" and "Tropical Airplay Song Of The Year" for "No Llores".

Estefan also received three nominations at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2008, and won for "Best Traditional Tropical Album" and "Best Tropical Song" for "Píntame De Colores" (she was also nominated for "Best Music Video – Long Form", but she lost out to Julieta Venegas's MTV Unplugged video concert). Estefan was also selected as the "Persona Del Año" ("Person of the Year"), the first time this awards was given to a female artist.

For the 2008 Billboard Year-End charts, the album ranked at #7 in the Top Tropical Albums, and #59 in the Top Latin Albums. Estefan also ranked seventh as the Top Tropical Albums Artist.