Gloria Estefan's early years were not
easy. Her father Jose was among the Cuban exiles who
participated in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, the
unsuccessful attempt to oust Castro from power. Jose
spent a year and a half in a Cuban prison, and
during this time Gloria and her mother lived in a
Cuban ghetto near the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Misfortune continued to follow her dad. He was badly
poisoned by the defoliant, Agent Orange while
serving in Vietnam.