Gloria Estefan To Guest on "Glee"

[JamesG]

"Glee's" Naya Rivera: Gloria Estefan Plays a 'Supportive' Mom
5/14/2012
by Lesley Goldberg


Things are looking good in Lima Heights.

During next week's "Glee" season finale, Gloria Estefan pops in to play Mrs. Lopez, the sweet mother to Naya Rivera's snippy Cheerio, Santana.





While it's unclear what brings Mama Lopez to McKinley -- it is the graduation episode, so that'd be our educated guess -- Rivera stressed that the relationship between mother and daughter is completely different than when her grandmother rejected the singing cheerleader after she came out to her during an April episode.

"She's very much the supportive mother -- and fun!" Rivera told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday at Fox's upfront party in New York. "She was amazing to work with, very sweet and we had the best time."





Despite having Estefan in the house, Rivera says the Grammy winner won't get to sing anything but instead breaks bread with her on-screen daughter and her girlfriend, Brittany (Heather Morris) during a "cute" scene at Breadsticks, where Mrs. L is, you guessed it, a great parent.

"She's very supportive of the relationship," Rivera says.





With cast members heading to New York and some staying put in Lima, Rivera reveals she doesn't have a preference in terms of where she'd like to see Santana go -- if the cheerleading scholarship Brittany so kindly helped to arrange doesn't pan out.

"Santana just wants to be a star; she definitely will be pursuing that," Rivera says. "The big question is, is the University of Louisville big enough for Santana? I don't have a preference as long as I'm still involved with the show, which I am, in any capacity."





Considering Brittany's graduation status is up in the air, and with Santana potentially heading out of state, could the dynamic couple be separated?

Rivera says Santana will continue to help Brittany do anything she wants and, regardless of what happens, promised a satisfying finale for "Brittana."

"It's not an ending, so I don't think there will be any issues with that," she says. "The last episode is very, very sweet."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...estefan-324308

[JamesG]

"Glee's" Gloria Estefan on Playing Santana's Mom: "The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree"
May 18, 2012
by Kate Stanhope


When "Glee" fans got their first look into the personal life of Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) earlier this season, it was not a pretty picture. Santana came out as a lesbian to her beloved grandmother, only to be rejected and kicked out of her home. Fortunately, help is on the way.

"That bugged me. She needed a supportive mom," Gloria Estefan, who guest-stars as Santana's mom Maribel, tells TVGuide.com.





In the season finale (Tuesday at 9/8c on Fox), Santana's mom is introduced as the seniors prepare to get their diplomas and finalize their post-graduation plans. For the Lima Heights-adjacent native, that means saying goodbye to girlfriend Brittany (Heather Morris) and accepting her cheerleading scholarship to the University of Louisville.

Or will she? "For Maribel, the issue is not that her daughter is gay. The issue is that if something happens and she leaves and the other one doesn't — how is that going to affect her decision-making?" Estefan asks.

"She really wants Santana to be educated and go to college."





After years of tough love from Santana's Abuela and her mom, Maribel's main priority is that Santana is happy.

"She's Abuela's daughter, so imagine what she went through. That's a tough cookie," Estefan says. "Abuela probably told Maribel that although she had dreams of stardom and singing, she had a daughter and she had to get a job."





Maribel shares her daughter's vocal prowess, but don't expect to hear Estefan lend her famous pipes to any tunes this time around.

"Not in this one. Hopefully I'll be back," Estefan says. "In a way, I'm happy because once I'm singing, it throws me more into Gloria Estefan-land. You can hear me sing everywhere else."

Instead, the self-proclaimed "Glee" fan says she gets to dish out some Santana-style acid-tongued one-liners. "The apple doesn't fall from the tree," she says with a laugh.





In the case of Estefan's guest role, the story line also doesn't stray far from reality. Estefan's own daughter and fellow Gleek is headed to college next year — a shared thread that was not lost on Estefan or her husband, Emilio.

"My husband said, 'I'm used to seeing you all the time, but when you did that scene, I got all choked up,' because he's identifying too," she says. "We're already in a fetal position."



"Glee's" season finale airs Tuesday at 9/8c on Fox.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Glee-Glo...n-1047701.aspx