The "Glee" Season 3 finale (Tuesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox) will be emotional and that's partly due to Gloria Estefan, who guest stars as Santana's (Naya Rivera) mom Maribel in the season finale. (Take a look at Estefan in her new role in the slideshow below.)
"She needed a supportive mom," Gloria Estefan told TVGuide.com about Santana coming out to her abuela earlier this season, which didn't go well ... at all. "That bugged me."
The season finale sees many members of McKinley High's New Directions prepare to move on as their senior year comes to a close. And that means Santana has to say goodbye to her girlfriend and fellow Cheerio Brittany (Heather Morris).
"For Maribel, the issue is not that her daughter is gay. The issue is that if ... she leaves and the other one doesn't -- how is that going to affect her decision-making?" Estefan told TVGuide.com. "She really wants Santana to be educated and go to college."
Unfortunately, Estefan said she wouldn't be singing this time around. "Hopefully I'll be back," she said. "In a way, I'm happy because once I'm singing, it throws me more into Gloria Estefan-land. You can hear me sing everywhere else." But she does throw around some Santana-esque zingers. "The apple doesn't fall from the tree," Estefan told TVGuide.com with a laugh.
"Glee" star Cory Monteith, who plays Finn, told ET Online earlier that the finale contains "a lot of cliffhangers, but it explains a lot too."
His on-screen (and possibly off-screen) girlfriend Lea Michele, who plays Rachel Berry, echoed his statements previously to ET Online. "It definitely does wrap everything up really nicely and let you know where everybody is going to be heading off to, but it does leave a lot open because a lot of people will be back next year," she said. "It leaves their storylines open to go to lots of different places for next season."
Click over to TVGuide.com for more form Gloria Estefan and click through the slideshow below to see photos from the "Glee" Season 3 finale, which airs Tuesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
