Gloria Estefan awarded Spain's gold medal for the arts

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan waits to be awarded with Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American pop star who achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s, was honored by the Spanish government on Monday for her contribution to the arts.

Accompanied by her music-producer husband Emilio, the singer was presented with the Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts by Culture Minister Jose Guirao in Madrid's Teatro Real opera house.

The ceremony was organized especially for Estefan, who could not attend an event earlier this year where King Felipe presented medals to several other recipients.

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan reacts upon being awarded Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Speaking to reporters afterwards, the multi-Grammy Award winner, who has had hits in Spanish and English, spoke out on some of the issues facing Latino people in the United States, including the policy of separating the children of migrants from their parents.

"We are frightened about the treatment those children received," Estefan told a news conference.

"It's a very difficult moment and I think the whole of the United States is a bit anxious. It's a difficult time worldwide."

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan gets her husband Emilio Estefan to pose with her and Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera after being awarded with Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Estefan said she had finished recording an album to be released in January:

"We have re-invented some of my tracks so you can consider it a 'Greatest hits' so to speak, but no, because it also has four new tracks."

Emilio Estefan uses his phone to record as his wife, Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan, is awarded with Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

(Reporting by Sam Edwards; Editing by Jesús Aguado and Robin Pomeroy)

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan blow kisses after Gloria was awarded Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera (R) in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan reacts towards her husband Emilio Estefan as she waits to be awarded with Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan arrives to be awarded with Spain's Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts from Spain's Culture Minister Jose Guirao Cabrera in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera