I'm never going to stop making music. I couldn't.

The most beautiful thing about music is that it transcends most anything.

I was a straight-A student, baby!

There is still a Castro in [Cuba]. And I think the status quo will not change until [Fidel] moves to the great beyond. [However,] Raul Castro [recently installed as president of Cuba] is a more open-minded guy [than Fidel]. [Raul] lives a more capaitalistic lifestyle. And he has been somewhat more open with the press and allowing the sudents to speak up. But the reality is that he won't do much until Fidel is gone.

The music is one of the beautiful things that has survived the Castro regime. I have played for audiences all over the world but I've never played for a Cuban audience. For [husband] Emilio and me, the music is the one tie to our homeland.

All of us know the true meaning of freedom. Some of us appreciate it more than those who have been here for many generations.