Gloria Estefan To Receive Humanitarian Honor

Grammy winner Gloria Estefan will be honored as the 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for her philanthropic, professional and cultural accomplishments.

The 50-year-old pop star will receive the honor at a star-studded concert and tribute dinner on November 12 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, with a portion of the proceeds from the evening’s tribute dinner going to the Gloria Estefan Foundation and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

“The Latin Recording Academy and its Board of Trustees are elated to recognize Gloria Estefan as an extraordinary Latina woman, humanitarian and talented musician who has made a global impact on music and culture,” said Latin Recording Academy President Gabriel Abaroa. “She is one of Latin music’s most enduring icons, and we are privileged to be honoring such a dedicated, generous, and gifted lady.”

Estefan – who will play concerts in October benefiting schools – established the Gloria Estefan Foundation to promote good health, education and cultural development. One of the main benefactors of the Foundation is the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis – the leading research center for spinal cord injuries. She also served as chairwoman for a campaign that raised more than $40 million to build the Lois Pope Life Center neurological research facility.