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Gloria Estefan for City

THE QUEEN of latin pop, singer Gloria Estefan will perform in the Middle East for the first time when she sings in Dubai for the launch of a music and cinema spectacle as part of the Dubai International Film Festival(DIFF), it was announced yesterday.

Estefan will perform at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on December 13 after the world-premiere of the film 90 Millas (90 Miles) directed by her husband Emilio Estefan for Rhythm and Reels.

DIFF managing director Shivani Pandya yesterday announced its new initiative Rhythm and Reels, presented by Dubai Pearl, a three-day open-air event from December 13-15 celebrating cinema and music.

Pandya said film and song were popular with people of any background and their power to cross cultures inspired the Rhythm and Reels idea.

'Music and film go hand in hand, and each can move audiences equally, needing no translation,' she said.

'This film and Gloria Estefan's music will bring the Cuban experience to life at DIFF, which fits perfectly with our mandate of Building Bridges, Meeting Minds and underscores the international nature of DIFF, which brings together great artists from around the world.'

The second day of Rhythm and Reels the movie The White Thread, a documentary by Moroccan filmmaker Khalil Benkirane, will be screened making its Middle East premiere.

The critically-acclaimed Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor, a musical love story and ode to the sixties based on The Beatles songs, will screen on the third day.

Rhythm and Reels is also an adaption of last year's Screen on the Green.

DIFF festival development director Dan Butkovich said the week long Screen on the Green, a free movie screenings concept held during DIFF last year, had been shortened to three days, December 10, 11, 12 this year.

The free movie screenings would then be followed by Rhythm and Reels.

Rhythm and Reels

December 13

Movie: 90 Millas

Performance: Gloria Estefan

December 14

Movie: The White Thread

Performance: Moroccan DJ Zayan Freeman will perform with Bnet Marrakech, a group of gypsy women singing in traditional Berber and Arabic style.

December 15

Movie: Across the Universe

Performance: The Best of the British Invastions

December 13-15

Exhibition: Magnum Photos exhibition The Magic of Cinema

Facts

Where: Dubai Media City Amphitheatre: open air theatre with beanbag seating along with chalets and VIP terraces.

When: December 13 to 15 2007

Tickets: each evening: Dh 175, three nights: Dh 450, Tickets available from DIFF box offices and online at www.dubaifilmfest.com

GLORIA ESTEFAN has more than 90 million album sales under her belt and now she is set to make her debut to the Middle East in Dubai on December 13.

Estefan's performance will follow the world-premiere of her husband, Emilio Estefan's, movie by the same name 90 Millas in Dubai for the Rhythm and Reels event during the Dubai International Film Festival.

A recording of Gloria Estefan speaking about the upcoming premiere and performance was shown during a press conference announcing the details yesterday.

'It is an honour for Emilio and I to have the world premiere of the 90 Millas documentary in Dubai,' she said.

'As an artist and performer, it's always a fun and exciting experience to play to a new audience.

'Having performed for fans all over the world, this will by my first concert in the Middle East and I'm thrilled to have been invited to perform it at the Dubai Film Festival.'

'90 Millas' pays tribute to Gloria's Latin heritage with a collection of newly recorded original Spanish language songs celebrating Cuban music and it's culture. The album also pays homage to the most influential and universally respected Latin musicians of the past fifty years.

Some of the artists joining Estefan on this album include Arturo Sandoval, Andy Garcia, Chocolate, India, Cachao, Papo Lucca, Johnny Pacheco and Generoso.