International Superstar Gloria Estefan has performed to packed arenas worldwide in a career spanning more than two decades, but for the first time she has announced plans to take her greatest hits tour to South America.

Estefan will begin the trek with an April 9 show at the Conrad Hotel in Punta del Este, Uruguay, she announced Monday at a Miami news conference.

“After so many years of planning to perform there, but because of logistics, you know, and a lot of political upheaval in Latin America, getting everything harmonized and being available to do it was just to difficult,” Estefan said. “I spent 15 years of my life traveling and we’ve been trying to get to Latin America forever. So to me, it’s a nice full circle.”

Estefan will also perform in Chile, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador.

The seven-time Grammy winner said she will include all her old hits such as “Conga”, “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “Get On Your Feet,” as well as ballads including “Anything For You” and “Coming Out of the Dark.”

“We did some research because I wanted to know what our fans wanted to hear in the show. We’ve been fortunate enough to have a career that’s spanned countries and many different albums, and in each place, they have their special songs that were big hits there.”

The show comes less than one year after her European tour to promote 90 Millas, a Spanish-language album that featured original songs inspired by her native Cuba.

When asked if Estefan had heard from fans awaiting her South America tour, she said, “I know that my fans are excited. They’ve been waiting a long time for this. We’ve received a lot of hits on our website.”

Last year, Estefan was the first woman to receive the Latin Recording Academy’s “Person of the Year” award.

She also will be honored by the BMI Foundation on March 12 as a “2008 BMI Icon,” an award that has been given to previous winners including Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, and Brian Wilson.

Soucre: miamiherald.com