text: mi tierra mi tierra ( english : my homeland ) is the third studio album by cuban - american recording artist gloria estefan , released on june 14 , 1993 by epic records . produced by husband emilio estefan , it is her first spanish - language album and pays homage to her cuban roots . the album features cuban musical genres , including boleros , and son music . recorded at crescent moon studios in miami , florida , mi tierra features notable latin musicians such as arturo sandoval , cachao lópez , correa and paquito d 'rivera . the album was an international success , selling eight million copies worldwide as of 2006 . in the united states it was the first record to reach number one on the billboard top latin albums chart , and peaked at number twenty - seven on the billboard 200 chart . mi tierra has sold over one million copies in the us and spain . the album received favorable reviews from critics , who praised the album 's production , songs and estefan 's vocals . its success won the singer a grammy award for best tropical latin album . mi tierra spawned seven singles : " mi tierra " , " con los años que me quedan " , " tradición " , " montuno " , " ¡ sí señor ! ... " , " mi buen amor " and " ayer " . background gloria estefan had wanted to record a spanish - language album reflecting her cuban heritage since the beginning of her musical career . before recording in english , estefan and her band performed at latino nightclubs ; she also remembered her grandmother teaching her old cuban songs . music had an important role in estefan 's family ; her paternal grandmother was a poet , and an uncle played the flute in a salsa band . the singer 's desire to record an album in spanish was also influenced by her son , ; she wanted him to recognize his cuban heritage . recording and production mi tierra was produced by estefan 's husband , emilio estefan , and fellow miami sound machine members clay ostwald and jorge casas . it features notable latin musicians , including nestor torres , cachao lópez , paquito , correa , paquito d 'rivera , arturo sandoval , luis enrique and tito puente . additional performers include sheila e. and the london symphony orchestra . the album was recorded at crescent moon studios in miami , florida . celia cruz was invited to perform , but was unable to do so because of her touring schedule . the album 's cover features estefan in a black - and - white photo at a havana nightclub before the cuban revolution . musical style and songs the opening track on the album , " con los años que me quedan " ( " with the years i have left " ) , is a cuban bolero song . three other bolero tracks on mi tierra are " mi buen amor " ( " my true love " ) , " volverás " ( " you 'll be back " ) , and " de mí " ( " you 're talking about me " ) . the title track details the passion of estefan 's homeland in a salsa arrangement . in " ayer " ( " yesterday " ) the singer finds a flower given to her by a lover and yearns for him to return , since life is short . its music combines bolero and son music . " no hay mal que por bien no bien " ( " out of all bad , some good things come " ) is a recalling a brief love affair . " ¡ sí señor " ( " yes sir ! " ) is another son track featured on the album . the bolero " volverás " was later covered by mexican recording artist alejandro fernández on his album me estoy ( 1997 ) , also produced by emilio estefan . " montuno " takes its name from the musical genre of the same name . " el mismo " ( " let 's speak the same language " ) is an anthem , reaching out to other latino groups , telling them that since they speak the same language they should leave their differences behind . the album closes with " tradición " ( " traditional " ) , which is performed as a . commercial reception album in the united states , mi tierra peaked at number twenty - seven on the billboard 200 chart . it was the first number - one album on the billboard top latin albums chart , established when it was released . the album spent a total of fifty - eight weeks atop the chart , until it was displaced by selena 's album amor prohibido the week of june 11 , 1994 . it was more successful on the billboard tropical albums chart , where it spent ninety - one weeks on top . mi tierra debuted at number one on the billboard latin pop albums chart the week of july 10 , 1993 , but it was removed from the chart following week since it did not meet its criteria . mi tierra ended 1994 as the best - selling latin album of the year in the united states . the album was certified 16 × platinum by the recording industry association of america by latin standards , for shipments of 1 . 6 million copies in the u.s. according to nielsen soundscan , it sold 1 , 198 , 000 copies in the u.s. by 2007 ; according to billboard , most purchasers did not speak spanish . in latin america , the album was certified double platinum in argentina and triple platinum in mexico . it sold over 30 , 000 copies in chile . in europe , mi tierra peaked at number fifty - nine in germany , number nine in the netherlands , number one in spain , number twenty - five in switzerland and number eleven in the united kingdom . the album was certified 10 × platinum in spain ( for shipping one million copies ) and certified gold in switzerland . it also sold 200 , 000 in england . mi tierra was the 60th - best - selling album of the 1990s , and sold over eight million copies worldwide by 2006 . singles " mi tierra " was the first single released from the album . in the united states , it reached number one on the billboard hot latin songs chart and number five on the billboard hot dance club songs chart . in europe , the song peaked at number seventy - seven on the media control charts in germany , twenty - seventh on the mega single top 100 chart in netherlands and thirty - sixth on the uk singles chart . the second single , " con los años que me quedan " , also reached number one on the hot latin songs chart in the united states . an english version , " if we were lovers " , was released as a single and peaked at number forty on the uk singles chart . the third single , " tradición " , reached number one the hot dance clubs chart in the united states . " montuno " was the fourth single released from the album , peaking at number fifty - five on the uk singles chart . the fifth single , " ¡ sí señor ! ... " peaked at number forty - four on the mega single top 100 chart in the netherlands . the sixth , " mi buen amor " , reached number one on the hot latin songs chart in the united states . the last single released from the album was " ayer " , which peaked at number five on the hot latin songs chart . critical reception and accolades jose f. promis of allmusic awarded the album four stars out of five , calling it " one of [ estefan 's ] most satisfying . " mi tierra was " a breezy , sunny album with moments of melancholy , " and " one of her most consistent albums to date . " achy obejas of the chicago tribune gave the album four out of four stars , praised it as " dispensing with the brash sound of more contemporary salsa " and lauded emilio estefan for the album 's production . anne hurley of entertainment weekly said that mi tierra " will whirl you through an intoxicating landscape of traditional cuban rhythms and aromatic flavors , " and applauded the guest musicians on the album . parry gettelman of the orlando sentinel gave mi tierra four out of five stars , commending the album as " uncompromising , offering up songs and arrangements firmly rooted in cuban traditions . " he compared it to estefan 's earlier recordings with the miami sound machine , including her musical style and songwriting : " she ditches the synths and employs the london symphony orchestra 's strings to graceful effect ... abandoning melodrama for real color and emotional shading . " john lannert described mi tierra for the sun - sentinel as " latin ' unplugged ' album " and her " most satisfying effort to date . " at the 36th grammy awards , mi tierra was the best tropical latin album . at the 6th lo nuestro awards estefan received two awards in the tropical category , for female artist of the year and album of the year . the singer was female artist of the year at the first billboard latin music awards , and mi tierra was album of the year in the tropical - salsa category . at the 1994 spanish ondas awards , mi tierra was the best international album and estefan the best international artist . it was recognized as the best - selling latin album of the year with a 1993 – 94 narm best seller award . in 2015 , billboard listed mi tierra as one of the essential latin albums of past 50 year stating that " through son , she transports us to a magical place in the ‘ 50s where time stood still on her beloved island " . track listing official translations provided by allmusic and by gloria estefan on the mi tierra liner notes . credits and personnel the following credits are from allmusic and from the mi tierra liner notes : performance credits technical credits release history charts weekly charts certifications