Loving this: Ay Haiti

So I am on Shakira's Twitter feed (don't ask, and certainly, don't tell) and this came through a few minutes ago. I clicked through and found myself moved by a new musician-led effort to raise funds for disaster relief in Haiti following the devastating January 12th earthquake.

The song, featuring some of the best singers from Spain as well as a few worldwide superstars, has been playing on the radio since March 27th but the video was just launched today.  It features superstars Shakira, Miguel Bosé, Alejandro Sanz and Juanes. Other participants include actress Paz Vega, soccer players Kaká, Andrés Iniesta, "Kun" Agüero, Diego Forlán and Sergio Ramos and singers Bebe, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Aleks Syntek, Anni B. Sweet, Macaco, La Mala Rodriguez, Belinda, OBK, Hombres G, Daddy Jean, Wally López, Zahara, Sandra Carrasco, José Mercé, David Otero, Enrique Iglesias, Marta Sánchez and Najwa Nimiri. 

In a Madrid press conference yesterday to launch the video, producer David Summers - who also is the lead singer of Hombres G - said that the artists had hoped to be able to sell the song through iTunes but charged that Apple insisted on charging a 30% commission on sales instead of waving the fee and allowing all funds raised through the sale of the single to go towards the effort.

I'm not sure if there is an international fundraising effort through the sale of the song but all proceeds will go to Intermón OxFam. If you like the song, you might want to make a donation here.

In my humble opinion, this rocks! It beats those awful English-language and Spanish-language "We Are The World" remakes anytime (ok, the only thing all three share in lameness is the rap interludes and, if one thing jumps out from this new effort, it's just how white the pool of artists is. I mean, the rapper wearing black gloves? Huh?). Anyway, some of the lyrics are beautiful:

There are lands that don't have any dreams
There are lands that tremble in fear
There are lands that want peace
Haiti only wants to be normal

There is still time to be reborn
Of horse-riding above the hunger and the iron
There is a time to give out love
To erase the hunger and the destruction

CHORUS:
There is love, there is you, and in my voice, there's Haiti
There is love, there is you, and in my voice, there's Haiti

A life comes to a stop, desolation behind his back
It's a child with a lost view
Who, from the dust, illuminates with his own light

Seriously, it made me tear up. Oh, and I simply love Bebe (she is the one with the ring through her lower lip). And Alejandro Sanz? That voice! *melts* Damn! Enjoy. And donate.

Related: The "making of" video here

The coming out of Ricky Martin: Reactions

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD) has released a statement on Ricky Martin's coming out.  It's a statement from Jarret T. Barrios, the agency's Executive Director:

When someone like Ricky Martin comes out, hundreds of millions of people now have a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay; His decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide.

Yay!

In the meantime, I did take a gentle swipe at GLAAD's language usage policies when it came to Ricky Martin describing himself as "homosexual" in my previous post.  That's because I have long held that the usage of the word "homosexual" is common-place in Latin America: When people use it, they don't intend it to have a negative connotation.

The word "homosexual" is certainly there in the Spanish-language version of his coming out statement and was probably left intact when someone translated it for the English-language statement to Spanish. They probably didn't know that it wasn't kosher to leave it there (I must confess I sometimes translate 'homosexual' to 'gay' when I do translations from Spanish language articles just as I translate 'travesti' to 'transgender').

But, as the news broke on Twitterlandia - and elsewhere - I was struck by a certainly understandable divide.

There were those in the United States who only knew the singer for his "Living La Vida Loca" cross-over attempts and his vagueness about his sexuality over the years. For the most part, today, they were dismissive and quick to say that it was too late for him to come out. Not a comprehensive survey here by any means, but they included openly gay US Representative Jared Polis, and bloggers like DListed and AmericaBlogGay,

On the other hand, there were those of us Latinos who knew that Ricky Martin had never defined himself by his cross-over attempts or had lost any stature in Latin America just because he had failed to sustain his cross-over moment in the United States.  Those of us who knew about his longstanding efforts to eradicate child abuse throughout the world (click on: The Ricky Martin Foundation).  Those of us who, like everyone else, suspected he was gay but didn't think he would ever come out. Those of us who thought that he would nevertheless make a huge impact if he ever did. Particularly among queer youth who looked up to him and were struggling to come to terms with their sexuality.

So, let me go against the grain and congratulate Ricky Martin for coming out today. I, too, would have liked it to have happened sooner, but I do not feel I can properly express just how huge this is when it comes to Latin America.

For proof of the immediate impact, you might want to go to the outpouring of support from fellow stars that followed Ricky's coming out announcement on Twitter.

Those include:

• Mexican singer Christian Chavez, who might as well be called the first Latino super-star to come out. On his Twitter account he wrote "Ricky Martin, I am so proud of you. Wow! United, things will change! With liberty! With love! Out with face masks! Let's love each other as we are."
• Colombian singer Juanes who Tweeted "all my respect and love for you Ricky, you are a gentleman"
• Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner who Tweeted "the Ricky Martin of yesterday is the same Ricky Martin of always. And he is my friend!"
• Mexican singer - and longtime ally Gloria Trevi -who Tweeted "Ricky Martin, illuminated and with a sincere heart."
• Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz, long rumored to be gay himself, who Tweeted "a strong embrace and all my friendship for Ricky Martin. You are loved and respected. So good that you are at peace with yourself. Kiss your babies" (you might know Alejandro from this Shakira video).
• Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria, who just Tweeted "You are inspiring and beautiful, I love you so much!"
• And the amazing (and most popular current Puerto Rican artist) René Pérez Joglar, also known as Calle 13's "El Residente" who Tweeted "Ricky Martin: Being a man doesn't have to do with your sexual preference, but with the honesty with which you sustain your words" and "Ricky Martin is much more of a man than many a man who says they are a man."
• And, OMfuckin'G, even Veronica Castro - who would not go lesbian for a Mexican TV show - deems is necessary to jump into the fray and say "You are a wonderful human being and an unstoppable artist; My support for you in everything you do, I send you a kiss."

And just by those, tonight, you will have an inkling of just how many barriers Ricky Martin broke tonight. Yes, it might have come late in his career. Yes, you might make light of it if you want. But, in some ways, the earth moved today in Latin America when it comes to LGBT rights.

Related:

• Ricky Martin comes out - Oriol's POZ Blog, March 30, 2010

Papito

Miguel Bosé says that his closest friends call him papito ['little daddy'], an explanation for the title of his ambitious new release which came out on Tuesday here in the United States. He has also said that the word is intrinsically Latin American and that it is a way for him to show gratitude to the continent for all that it has given him (born in Panama, Bosé has made a living in Spain for decades).

In "Papito" the legendary Bosé invites some of today's best known Spanish language pop singers to reinterpret 14 singles from his prolific 30 year old career through duets.

I have never necessarily been a big fan of his music but for anyone who has lived at least part of their life in Latin America or Spain, some of these songs have ingrained themselves so deeply in popular culture that they've become a soundtrack to specific moments of anyone's life.

It's his larger than life personality, his magnetism, his knowing and playful way of dismissing questions about his sexuality (while at the same time playing into the ambiguity by producing videos that sometimes incorporate gay and bisexual content) that has made me a fan.

Some of his biggest hits are synth heavy tracks from the 1980's and early 90's - which means that their sound hasn't aged particularly well. So I decided to give "Papito" a try and see if some of these songs could actually improve on their originals.

My take? For she most part, it works!

Some songs still don't make it for me ("Bambu" with Ricky Martin and "Nada Particular" with Juanes) and some barely do (the single "Nena" with Paulina Rubio). But there are great songs here (among them the reggae-tinged "Morena Mia" with a great vocal by Julieta Vanegas, the amazing "Si Tu No Vuelves" with Shakira and "Este Mundo Va" with Leonor Vatling). There is also a great brand new song - "Hay Dias" with Alejandro Sanz - and a nice duet with Michael Stipe of R.E.M. in which Stipe sings (gulp!) in Spanish!

Ah! And I almost forgot! There's the kitch brilliance of "Amante Bandido" - perhaps his signature song - featuring a duet with the quintesential queer idol Alaska (from Alaska y Dinarama)!

And that cover illustration that plays on Southern Cal street tattoo culture? Just love it. Shows his sense of humor is still intact after all these years.

More "Papito" at the following links:

• Buy "Papito" at Amazon.com
• Miguel Bosé's official website (which says that there is a 2-CD version in Spain with an additional 15 duets, some previously released).