rhythm is gonna getcha

from the tender age of five, i had an obsession with pop singers. long before the "latin explosion" of the 90's, gloria estefan shimmied her way into my heart. i remember my first experience with her quite vividly. it was the summer of '87. i was 6. grandma just bought me let it loose, the new gloria estefan & miami sound machine tape. i sat out in the front yard with my boom box and listened to every song 3 times while following along with the lyrics in the liner. the boom box only had play, fast forward, and stop so if i wanted to listen to a song on side A again, i had to flip the tape over and fast forward side B for just long enough to find the beginning of the desired track side A. tedious? yes, but a small price to pay for "1-2-3-4 c'mon baby say you love me", which i listened to "5-6-7 times" a day.

in the 5th grade, after tireless begging, dad took me to see gloria live in concert. the year was 1991, it was the into the light tour. gloria had just comeback from a year long rehab from the bus accident that broke her back and threatened her life. the show brought tears to my eyes. nothing short of inspiring.

i never told any of my classmates that i was a gloria estefan fan. i was forced into the closet with my morracas, to conga with no one but myself--too fearful of what the other 11 year-old boys would think of my love for gloria. as i entered junior high school, i put gloria to rest and hid the salsa-infused pop sensation deep into the cavernous hollow of loves that dare not speak their name.

a decade passed. last night, i knew i couldn't control myself any longer. i could feel the rythm of the music getting stronger. i couldn't fight it till i tried it. i did the conga beat. i downloaded gloria estefan's greatest hits on i-tunes. my boyfriend closed and locked the door to his office as i sang along to every note while loading the dishwasher. it was like an old friend came back into my life. like that child you gave up for adoption suddenly knocks on your door and calls you "mommy". she's right when she says, "you can fight it everyday//but no matter what you say//you know it//the rhythm is gonna getcha". i'd still do anything for you, gloria.

i have now used up all of my butch points.