KEY WEST, Fla. – Gloria Estefan brought tears to the eyes of older Cuban-Americans who gathered Saturday to hear the first live performance of songs from her new album, “90 Millas.”

Amid frenzied, unsubstantiated rumors that ailing Fidel Castro has died, Estefan performed “Esperando (Cuando Cuba Sea Libre)” – Waiting (For Cuba to be Free).

The title of her new album is Spanish for 90 miles – the distance from Key West to Cuba. Her performance with the Miami Sound Machine was taped Saturday at the Westin Key West Resort, just blocks from the city’s famed concrete buoy proclaiming it the southernmost point in the continental United States.

The segment will air Sept. 17 on Univision’s morning news program, “Despierta America,” about a week before “90 Millas” hits stores.

After the performance, Estefan recalled the seeds of her passion for Cuban music.

“My grandmother would shanghai pilots at the Havana airport so they’d bring me cartons of mango baby food – the only kind I’d eat. I learned to eat peach later. And in every carton, she’d slip a Cuban record,” Estefan said.