Mi Tierra

1	Con los Años Que Me Quedan with the Years That I Have Left 4:36
2	Mi Tierra My Homeland 4:38
3	Ayer Yesterday 5:17
4	Mi Buen Amor My True Love 3:50
5	Tus Ojos Your Eyes 4:11
6	No Hay Mal Que por Bien No Venga [out of All Bad, Some Good Things Come 5:28
7	Sí Señor! ... Yes Sir, It's My "S-O-N" 4:40
8	Volverás You'll Be Back 3:55
9	Montuno 4:57
10	Hablemos el Mismo Idioma Let's Speak the Same Language 4:45
11	Hablas de Mí You're Talking About Me 3:40
12	Tradición Traditional 5:21

Barnes & Noble

Gloria Estefan's Mi Tierra predicted the Latin pop explosion of the late '90s, with the Miami Sound Machine vocalist making a loud-and-proud reclamation of her Latin musical heritage. The album, released in 1993, was Estefan's effort to reconnect to her Cuban roots after several albums designed to exploit the ties between mainstream pop and Latin music. With guest appearances by the legendary Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" López, percussionists Tito Puente and Sheila E., and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, Mi Tierra qualifies as a true all-star session. The title track personifies the album's spirit, with its lyrics of nostalgia for Cuba, pseudo-charanga instrumentation, and lush symphonic string section added for good measure. Traditional styles like guajiro, cha-cha-chá, and the danzón are all featured here, along with Gloria's alluring singing. There are elemental attempts at explicating styles, as in "Si Señor," and "Montuno," which demonstrate the Cuban son montuno, and even an affecting call to Latino unity, "Hablemos el Mismo Idioma." The rousing finale, "Tradición," reaches back to the percussive base of Yoruban rumba to fully engage the listener with Estefan's successful immersion in her ancestral past. Ed Morales

All Music Guide

Gloria Estefan's first U.S. Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra is one of her most satisfying, and a step above her English-language pop albums. Her voice is extremely well suited for the material, and the result is a breezy, sunny album with moments of melancholy and longing -- in short, one of her most consistent albums to date. Additionally, some of the best-known and most well-respected Latin musicians were employed to further embellish the album. There are plenty of happy upbeat songs on this set, including "Montuno," the anthemic "Mi Tierra," "¡Sí Señor!...," "No Hay Mal Que por Bien No Venga," and "Hablemos el Mismo Idioma," which are all perfect for a summer cocktail pool party. The ballads are among her most compelling, among these "Con los Anos Que Me Quedan," with beautiful lyrics and guitars augmenting the lovely melodies. That song, incidentally, later resurfaced as the English-language "If We Were Lovers," which can be found on her Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 collection. Other ballad highlights include the longing "Mi Buen Amor" and "Volveras." The lyrics, which are included in their English translations, resonate much more in Spanish. This set easily ranks as one of Estefan's best albums, albeit least commercial. True fans of the artist will love this set, which showcases her as much more of an organic talent than her pop songs demonstrate. On "Hablemos el Mismo Idioma" she suggests, "Brother, give me your hand, let's speak the same language," and that language is music. An album such as this deserves to be listened to and appreciated by everyone, Spanish-speaking or not. A true pleasure. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide