by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
NO MORE ‘LIVIN LA VIDALOCA’: Ricky Martin says he’s spending the rest of the year out of the public spotlight now that he is the father of twin boys.
Press reps for Martin, 36, admitted last week that the Puerto Rican twins were born this year to a surrogate mother, but they refused to identify the woman or say when or where they were born.
The children are “already under Ricky’s fulltime care,” read a short statement provided to the media. News of the babies was released a day ahead of the story breaking in a Puerto Rican entertainment publication, Vea, which reported the boys were born Aug. 6.
The story has refueled rumors about Martin’s sexuality. According to several published stories, pictures of the babies are unlikely to appear on magazine covers soon, given Martin’s steadfast refusal to speak about his personal life.
The singer has not recorded an album since his Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged was released in November 2006. He concluded his Black and White international tour in October. Following an appearance at the Latin Grammy awards, he said he would be taking personal time off from recording and performing. He did perform last August at a fundraiser concert for the ALAS charity, which :provides healthcare and education for Latin American children.
FUNNY SPOTS: Austin-based comedy troupe The Latino Comedy Project is featured in several the creation of a Latin Jazz Institute which will organize courses, symposia and concerts, including one Nov. 21 with Nestor Torres and Jon Secada. Actresses Rosario Dawson and Eva Longoria addressed the Democratic National Convention’s Women’s Caucus in Denver…and Leopoldo Serrán, the Brazilian screenwriter of such films as Dona Flor e seus dos maridos and Bye Bye Brazil, died of liver cancer in Río de Janeiro. He was 66. Hispanic Link.