by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Aída Cuevas
STARS ALIGNED: Performers, announcers and hosts have been announced for the upcoming Latin Grammy Awards.
Singers Juan Luis Guerra, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Aída Cuevas and Jenni Rivera, as well as pop group Camila are among the acts scheduled to perform at the 11th annual awards, to be held Nov. 11 in Las Vegas. Peformance highlights also include a duet by Caribbean superstars Gilberto Santa Rosa and Johnny Ventura, who will debut their new single Hay que dejarse de vaina, and a performance by bachata nominee Prince Royce of his hit single Stand by Me, along with the song’s originator Ben. E. King. Mexican stars Eugenio Derbez and Lucero will host the event, to be broadcast by Univision. Announced award presenters include Pepe Aguilar, Jorge Drexler, Kany García, and Tito: El Bambino.”
RICKY RETURNS: A muchawaited autobiography by a well-loved Puerto Rican performer coincides with the release of his first single in two years.
On Nov. 2, Ricky Martin releases Lo mejor de mi vida eres tu, the first single from the Spanish-language album he is expected to release in early 2012. The same day marks the release of the Spanish- and Englishlanguage versions of his memoir, Yo (Me). Martin embarks on a media blitz this week that includes a Nov. 2 appearance on Oprah and subsequent interviews on Ellen and Late Show with David Letterman and book signings from coast to coast.
Martin’s autobiography is expected to recount his decision to hire a woman to give birth to his twin children and the much talked-about announcement of his homosexuality.
ONE LINERS: The New York-based American Ballet Theatre will perform in Havana during the Cuban International Ballet Festival, which began Oct. 28 with a tribute to Alicia Alonso, who danced with ABT and now directs the Cuban National Ballet. It continues through Nov. 7… bandleader Arturo O’Farrill says he plans to take his late father’s band, the Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, to the International Jazz Festival in the Cuban capital in December… the town of Dolores Hidalgo, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, is commemorating the Primer Festival Internacional José Alfredo Jiménez all month long, dedicated to the late legendary songwriter…Madonna will launch a new international chain of gyms with the Nov. 29 opening of the first Hard Candy Fitness in Mexico City… Max and Emme, the twin children of Jennifer López and Marc Anthony, made their modeling debut in an ad for Gucci children’s wear in which they appear with their famous mom…. U.S. sculptor Richard Serra shares with French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf Spain’s Principe de Asturias prize in the arts and letters…. And Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar is expected to attend the Nov. 4 opening on Broadway of the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, based on his movie… Hispanic Link.
