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Ricky Martin: Pure Tenacity
By : Celeste Rodas de Juárez
After his stint starring as Miguel Morez in “General Hospital” in 1995 and performing on Broadway in Les Misérables, Ricky Martin decided to return to his musical roots. It was in the ’90s and he couldn’t have made a better decision since Latin America had not forgotten that charismatic young boy who’d charmed the region while performing in a group known as Menudo. Just a pair of solo projects and the Hispanic world would be his. What he could not have known is that by 1999, thanks to the song “Vuelve,” he would travel the globe singing in Spanish. Although many people may not realize it, by the time he recorded “Livin’ la vida loca” he was already a star in India, Japan, France, Australia… that is, his crossover actually took place months before.
“Livin’ la vida loca” just consolidated Martin’s work; in other words, he was simply reaping the result of his decades of hard work: People magazine selected him as one of the world’s 50 Most Beautiful People; the World Music Awards named him the Best Selling Latin Artist; he appeared on the covers of Time, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and People magazines; and Barbara Walters chose him to interview on her exclusive program “Barbara Walters Oscar Special.”
And we haven’t even mentioned the charitable causes that he supports! This singer is sort of a Latin Bono (comparing him to the Irish singer of the group U2), although he says that he in no way even comes close to him). Few artists do as much as he does: visiting children hospitalized with AIDS, donating a million dollars to a musical school in his native country [Puerto Rico], adopting three little girls in India and even participating in a Puerto Rican political forum to fight for what he considers just causes.
My interview with Martin took place in a suite in Miami’s Hotel Mandarin, in a cozy environment of candlelight and two easy chairs facing each other. He was dressed casually and wore a broad smile.
I began by asking him if he was conscious of the fact that his fame had placed the name (and the map!) of Puerto Rico in the minds of thousands of people on other continents. He arose from his seat and applauded. His smile gave way to a chuckle, and with the spontaneity of a child, exclaimed, “yes, how cool! In the past, when I was asked where I was from and I said ‘Puerto Rico,’ people would repeat back to me, ‘Costa Rica?’ Other times they would look at me in fear and ask me if my country was like something out of West Side Story… it makes me glad to think that my music may have contributed to the changing of the way in which they view my country.”
In this relaxed tone I continued my interview with the performer of “La copa de la vida,” the official theme of the 1998 World Cup held in France that topped the lists of musical hits in 30 countries. The song was recorded on the same album as “Livin’ la vida loca,” the best-selling single in the history of Columbia Records.
“A couple of years ago I was singing in Beijing [China], a communist country. When the concert was over, the police tried to arrest me because I had ended the concert early without their permission. What really happened was that I extended the song “Maria” for 20 minutes and thought it went too long. Happily, they understood and I didn’t have to spend the night in jail.”
Was that the most memorable thing that’s happened to you while singing in a foreign country?
There have been many. On the same tour we were in New Delhi, India, where we sold 55,000 tickets. That experience filled me with emotion, as we had yet to release the English album and I had not won the Grammy either. I was still promoting my Vuelve album. I achieved so much singing in Spanish! I could break barriers and educate a world that didn’t yet clearly understand the Latin concept.
People began to speak about our continent and our culture, and that’s something that I’m really proud of. For this reason, I’m now releasing the Spanish album Almas del silencio, because I need to return to the young Ricky. Like the song “Asignatura pendiente” by [Ricardo] Arjona says, ‘With my head in the clouds, I sometimes forget that life is better on the ground.’ And when I say ‘ground,’ I’m referring to the simple times, when Ricky rode his bicycle through his neighborhood in Puerto Rico, when he attended high school and grew up with his grandmother… that’s the reason that I’m anxious to return to my beginnings to be able to caress and spoil the young Ricky.
Do you miss that ‘Little Ricky’ who, as the song says, ‘stayed behind in Puerto Rico?’
I’m still very much a child; at least that’s what many people say. I’m still young in a lot of ways: I like computer games, playing with my dogs, riding my bicycle, visiting my childhood home and remembering those special times. Sometimes I forget the little child inside, and when I do, it doesn’t go well for me. That’s the reason that I constantly ask the child inside if he’s content with what he’s accomplished, or if on the contrary, he’s ashamed of anything.
And what is the young Ricky’s answer to the adult Ricky?
Of course he is. We’re in the perfecting process, but we’re not there yet.
For how long have you performed this inner reflection?
I don’t really know. When I realized that my mind was already focused on working, that’s what I wanted to do and it gave me pleasure. My representatives discovered that I was an artist who didn’t know how to say no: I always wanted to work. Perhaps it’s all due to the fact that when I began my career, although my parents had been separated for two years, they had never before fought over my custody. Then it suddenly became an issue. For me it was very hard to go before a judge and hear the question: ‘Who do you want to live with, your father or your mother?’ That affected me very much. To try and forget that heartache, I began to throw myself even more into my work.
And now that you have several MTV awards, a Grammy under your belt and have sold more than 32 million albums, do you ask yourself why Ricky Martin is still working?
I believe that the life of every human being is full of purpose, and my purpose is to make more music in the world: I don’t see myself doing anything else. The reason I can say this is that everyone that knows me tells me that this was my destiny. I believe in music and what I can communicate when I’m on the stage.
HIS FUTURE
When I interviewed you the day your introduced ‘La copa de la vida,’ you told me that you wanted to get married right away and become a father. Now, here we are, four years later…
It’s because I was very much in love at the time!
And now you’re not?
At present there’s no one really special in my life, but I’m content.
Do you plan on adopting more children apart from the ones in India?
Of course! I’ve already adopted three girls in India who are my light and my balance. Every time I feel a bit out of it, I look at their photographs and remember the day that I rescued them from the street, where they lived in a plastic bag in a dumpster, and I can feel like I’ve done something to help make their lives better. That is a very intense feeling.
Speaking of children, you support several causes. You recently mentioned your interest in supporting the People for Children Foundation. Why does this interest you?
Because this foundation works closely with exploited children in Latin America. The number of children in prostitution or that have been exploited by adults is incredible. There are even agencies that carry them to Asia.
Some people have even suggested that I was exploited as a child, since at 12 years old I was working like someone who was 30. For me, however, it wasn’t being exploited, since I later became who I am because of that labor. It was a pure and noble labor that brought pleasure to the world. Perhaps there are children involved in prostitution who don’t understand that they’re being exploited because they have no one to guide them and show them the way out.
My [own] foundation, God willing, will help give this type of orientation. That’s the reason we want to participate in the next meeting of the G8, the world’s most powerful leaders. I have just written to the Dalai Lama about this subject. God willing, we’ll be able to meet with him in the near future.
Aside from your interest in philanthropy, you’re a great dancer and actor and speak five languages. Do you have any plans to act or sing in other languages?
At present I’m concentrating on my music and don’t really see myself involved in anything else in the next several months. Right now we’re exclusively involved in promoting Almas del silencio, a marvelous album featuring works by the best Latin composers: Juanes, Ricardo Arjona, Franco de Vita, etc. I’m also releasing my new album in English, in which I’ve invested a lot of time and energy.
Do you ever ask yourself where you’re headed?
I’m very satisfied with what I’ve accomplished! And I can say that with humility. When I’m asked what I lack, I answer: ‘I can lay down to sleep in peace, because in 20 or 30 years, I can read the books on the world’s music and I will have a chapter. That’s because with a lot of effort and discipline, I have achieved very beautiful and lasting things.’
Book your trip today! Visit www.aa.com, call American/American Eagle reservations at 1-800-433-7300, or call your travel agent for more information.
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