Category Archives: celebrity
T-Pain Microphone – Giveaway!
Okay, if you don’t listen to hip-hop/rap/popular music, you might not know who T-Pain is – so let me introduce you.
This is a photo I took of T-Pain and Pitbull on the red carpet at the 2011 Latin Billboard Awards in Miami
T-Pain is an American hip-hop artist who developed a unique sound and style by consistently using and thus popularizing “auto tuning.” Auto-tuning is basically an audio process which corrects pitch. Auto-tune has taken a lot of criticism from musicians and music fans alike because when abused, it can make even a talentless average-sounding pop singer sound good. While that’s totally true, I think it has its place in the industry.
Here’s T-Pain singing with our favorite naughty Cubano, Pitbull, so you can hear the “T-Pain effect”:
As T-Pain grew in popularity so did auto-tuning. In response to that interest, T-Pain first created an i-phone app that let’s you play with the effect. If you don’t have an i-phone – no worries. Now T-Pain has also created an auto-tune microphone.
K-Mart is selling the microphone and featuring it as one of their “Fab 15 toys” for the holidays with Modern Family actor, Rico Rodriguez.
My boys and I got to play with this toy the past few days, (much to Carlos’s annoyance.) I’m actually impressed with the features. You can record with it, (3 minutes of recording time), and then upload it to the internet via a USB hidden in the bottom of the microphone. The microphone also has a headphone jack, MP3 input and 3 original beats to play around with. Chécalo:
Think it looks fun? You’re in luck – I am giving away one I Am T-Pain™ Mic! Check out the giveaway below!
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
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THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER: Denisse!
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Prize description: “Experience the pop culture phenomenon of the T-Pain Effect™ with the I Am T-Pain™ Mic. Transform your voice into T-Pain’s style of singing with a press of a button. Sing to your favorite tracks, freestyle over exclusive beats, and upload beats from your computer to the mic. Record, save and share online with friends.” Approximate value: $39.99.
How to Enter:
Just leave a comment below telling me what song you’d want to sing into the microphone! (It doesn’t have to be a T-Pain song!) (Please read official rules below.)
Official Rules: No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter. You must be able to provide a U.S. address for prize shipment. Your name and address will only be shared with the company in charge of prize fulfillment. Please no P.O. Boxes. One entry per household. Make sure that you enter a valid E-mail address in the E-mail address field so you can be contacted if you win. Winner will be selected at random. Winner has 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours, a new winner will be selected at random. Giveaway entries are being accepted between October 17th, 2011 through October 25th, 2011. Entries received after October 25th, 2011 at 11:59 pm, will not be considered. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. If you win, by accepting the prize, you are agreeing that Latinaish.com assumes no liability for damages of any kind. By entering your name below you are agreeing to these Official Rules. Void where prohibited by law.
Disclosure: I received this product for review purposes. No other compensation was given. As always, all opinions are my own.
An Interview with RPM Miami star, Adrian Bellani
Adrian Bellani - (Image source: IMDb)
Below is my interview with actor Adrian Bellani, the super caliente half-Salvadoran star of Mun2′s hit show, RPM Miami! Disfrútenla!
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Latinaish.com: Hola Adrian! Thanks for agreeing to this interview. I’ve been wanting to talk to you since I missed meeting you at the RPM Miami launch party and again at the Latin Billboard Awards. (Although we’ve connected a few times on Twitter since then!)
As a fan of RPM Miami, first let me say felicidades on the success of your first season. Can you share any secrets about the season finale?
Adrian Bellani: I can’t share much, but what I can tell you is that it is filled with tons of drama and action. You don’t want to miss it!
Latinaish.com: Now, your character Alejandro/Alex is a veteran of the Iraq war who loses his best friend, Mike, on a mission. When Alejandro comes back to Miami he falls for his best friend’s girl, Luisa, Mike’s widow. I saw a comment online from a former soldier who objected to such a relationship saying that a soldier would never do that to a fellow soldier. What do you think?
Adrian Bellani: I respect his opinion, but I don’t think anyone is right or wrong unless they have been put in that position. It’s easy to say “No, I’d never do that to my boy,” but at the end of the day things change. There is that connection Luisa and Alex have, everything seems comfortable, everything seems nice. It was one of the issues that I spoke with the director, (Jacobo Rispa) about. I didn’t want it to seem like he had forgotten about his best friend and was moving in on his girl. I think we did a good job showing Alex’s conflict towards his feelings for Luisa, and the guilt he carried with Mike’s loss.
Alejandro/Alex and Luisa, heating things up on RPM Miami.
Latinaish.com: One thing I love about RPM Miami is that it’s fully bilingual. What has it been like working on a show where you get to choose whether to say your lines in English or Spanish? Is it freeing or do you get tongue tied?
Adrian Bellani: Totally freeing. It’s the way we speak. If you grew up speaking both languages, you understand the concept and the idea. I had never worked and spoken Spanish on screen. It was lovely being able to speak in my accent and first language. I don’t have many Latino friends in L.A., so I find myself speaking mostly English. It was nice to be surrounded by Hispanics.
Latinaish.com: As I mentioned earlier, I missed meeting you in Miami. Knowing you’re half-Salvadoran, I asked some of your co-stars where the “guanaco” was – (My husband is from El Salvador.) … I think your co-stars thought I was asking for “El Guajo” at first. Here’s the video of our mix-up:
Now I can finally ask you the question, “Which Caliche (Salvadoran slang) word is your favorite?”
Adrian Bellani: I’ve actually never heard the word “Caliche” before – So that’s a first for me. You got me on this one. Too hard to name just one. I could throw an entire list out. The first one that comes to mind is “baboso” – my grandfather used to call us “baboso.” I’ll let you do your homework and see if you can find out what that means.
Latinaish.com: [No homework for me! I already know that "baboso" means "stupid" - but it can be used affectionately in a joking way.]
Thanks so much for your time. Before we go, please tell us when we should tune in for season 2 of RPM Miami and what other projects you’re working on?
Adrian Bellani: The premiere of season 2 RPM Miami has not been announced. We’re so excited for the second season! For those that missed episodes in season one you will get a chance to watch the entire season again before the second season premieres.
I have a few projects that I’m excited about. I’m on the 4th episode of Rizzoli and Isles – airs August 1st, I believe. September 23rd Moneyball will hit theaters, (I play the role of real life baseball all star Carlos Peña.)
Last week I wrapped an independent film called CROSSTOWN. It’s a beautiful script about the struggles of a Salvadoran immigrant family trying to make it in the USA. The film is very intense and very raw. I had the opportunity to work along side Manny Perez, (a Dominican actor), who I’m a huge fan of. Definitely keep an eye out for it.
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Watch Adrian Bellani on RPM MIAMI – Sundays at 10pm EST on mun2, and tune in for the grand season finale on Sunday, July 24th at 10pm EST. Missed an episode? Visit mun2 online to catch up!
Belleza en Grande
Telemundo is beginning a special series aimed at plus-sized women to air during their show “Al Rojo Vivo.” The series, “Belleza en Grande” seeks to promote acceptance of all body shapes and sizes while providing helpful fashion advice.
Spanish-language television isn’t exactly known for promoting acceptance of anything but perfect bodies, (and English-language television isn’t much better), so I’m really pleased to see Telemundo taking this step in the right direction.
For more information on the series, including when to tune in, check out the press release:
MIAMI – July 8 2011– Telemundo’s “Al Rojo Vivo” will air “Belleza en Grande,” a series of special reports starting Monday, July 11 at 5pm ET/ 4C. María Celeste Arrarás, will present a sneak preview of this series during her appearance on NBC’s “Today Show” on Saturday, July 9, as part of the ongoing collaboration between the two networks.
Conducted by fashion expert Quique Usales, “Belleza en Grande” celebrates female beauty in all shapes and sizes. Changing the belief that fashion is designed only for skinny women, Maria Celeste, along with Quique, will present daily reports that will transform the way people see the plus-size woman.
Ranging from how to pick the right underwear, how to dress for the office, and how to select the basic pieces for a wardrobe, to how to choose the perfect lingerie for seduction as well as the right hairstyle to accentuate her best features, this series will not only offer beauty and fashion tips to women who are not a size zero, but will also give them the tools -and the inspiration- to have the right attitude to look beautiful, whatever their size.
Viewers will be able to see these and other special reports on http://www.Telemundo.com/alrojovivo.
What do you think?
El Más Chingón!
Via a press release yesterday, mun2, (Telemundo’s bilingual cable broadcast network aimed at young Latinos) – announced several awesome things – among them, an upcoming show that I’m really excited about. Chécalo!
From the press release:
“El Más Ching*n” [is] a competition reality series set to discover the next big Regional Mexican artist. It’s a talent search with a twist. Selecting contestants through an interactive online campaign, the road to regional stardom is filled with lifestyle challenges that include writing and performing, as well as horseback riding, media pressure tests and other identifiers of regional respect. Judged by celebrity personalities, the contestants will also be documented through behind-the-scenes rehearsals, back-story segments and confessionals, and tensions between the contestants, competing for one prize. Quién es el más chign*n?
I’m envisioning cute chicos vaqueros, some good Regional Mexican music, (and probably some bad Regional Mexican music from those who are NOT el más chingón), maybe some botas picudas… and… espera un momento! … They said “judged by celebrity personalities” … I wonder who? My fingers are crossed for a guest appearance by Espinoza Paz! Vamos a ver!
More about mun2, (because I like them and I identify with the term “culture connectors” that they use):
“…mun2 (moon-dos) is the lifestyle cable network for today’s culture connectors (C2s) – bicultural Latinos 18-34. As the bilingual network that amplifies the Latinos experience, mun2 is culturally-grounded and reflects the best of both worlds – mun2 is uniquely American. From reality to music, on-air to digital, mun2 creates original content across a multi-screen platform. As the only nationally measured bilingual cable network by Nielsen NTI, mun2 has an increased distribution to over 36 million households, and is a part of the Telemundo Communications Group, a division of NBCUniversal.”
Herederos del Monte: A Special Guest Appearance
Natalie Morales of the TODAY show, made a special guest appearance on Herederos del Monte! (Lucky her!)
The plot – (My English translation of what is given in Spanish on the Telemundo website):
A multi-millionaire from Texas arrives with his wife, Caroline, at La Arboleda while the hermanos del Monte are working.
Caroline takes a liking to José even though Sophia tries to warn her about him. When Caroline and José end up alone together in the barn, things start to get physical. Caroline fights him off, declaring that she’s a married woman. Her shouts are heard by her husband who rushes to the barn armed with a rifle, the other hermanos follow …
See more photos and read the storyline en español here!
For more fun:
• Enter your name here and it might appear in the credits of Herederos del Monte.
• Remember the “Somos Muchos” stickers from Toyota? There’s a special Herederos del Monte one available now for free. Go get one!
• And this is kind of random, but how cute was Lucas with his birthday perrito?
I’m also loving the developing relationship between Berta and Modesto. What is your favorite storyline or subplot right now?
Image sources: Today.msnbc.msn.com, Telemundo.com
Behind the Scenes of Telemundo Studios
Telemundo invited us into their studios to check out where they film some of their telenovelas.
The first set we visited was for a telenovela that is still in production called, “Mi Corazón Insiste.” The lead male actor is JenCarlos Canela. (I honestly thought he was only a singer, but apparently he’s an actor, too.)
Okay, here is another happy accident. (The first one was when my hair was styled like Paula del Monte’s in the poster behind me.) … Before I went to Miami, my friends at Surropa.com gifted me a T-shirt to wear for my trip. I chose one that said “Mi corazón” on it – partly because I loved the design and partly because I hoped to be wearing it if I met Espinoza. (He says “corazón” a lot in his songs. It’s like his “thing” …)
So anyway, I’m posing on the set of this telenovela and I say, “Which telenovela is being filmed here again?” and they tell me, “Mi Corazón Insiste.” – Muy raro, no?
Here are a couple photos of the set of Mi Corazón Insiste:
(This, we were told, is where a scene was just shot of a maid who was searching for something… Looks like it’s supposed to be an attic, don’t you think?)
(This is the fancy living room where I had my picture taken.)
Next we checked out where they keep props. It looked sort of like a well-organized thrift store. All the items on the shelves had bar codes and were catalogued – this is so they can be re-used. When they are setting up for a new telenovela they can see what they have in the catalog as far as lamps, for example, and choose one they already have, or make plans to go acquire one if they don’t already have something that fits what they’re looking for. (Wouldn’t “prop shopper” be an awesome job?)… My favorite fact I learned during the tour was that each year about 10% of the less popular props are donated to charity.
After props department, we visited the set of Aurora where they were rehearsing a scene for one of the final episodes. I wasn’t allowed to take photos or film, and we were supposed to be very quiet. It was difficult to be quiet for me though because one of the actors looked kind of funny due to his er… costume … I don’t think I’m allowed to give details… but a few of us were giggling and got shushed. Oops. I think that third graders on a field trip may have done a better job of being quiet than some of us blogueras. We were about 10 feet away from actor Eugenio Siller too which didn’t help some who were slightly smitten…(Good looking pero a mi me gustan los morenos.) The way they rehearse is really interesting. There was a woman there holding the script and she would feed each actor their lines. (Another cool job!)
(By the way, remind me to tell you what was so funny after the episode airs.)
Next we visited a room which I call “the editing room” because I don’t remember what it’s officially called.
Here is where they… edit…video?… I think he was putting together a promo for La Reina del Sur.
Last visit was to what I call the “music room” … again, because I don’t know what it’s really called. I do remember that this guy’s name is Joaquín and he is the one who adds music to the telenovelas. (Everyone say “Hello Joaquín!”) … Joaquín is also a musician, so when he can’t find exactly what he wants, he creates music on his own.
The question I asked Joaquín was, “Do you ever put suspenseful music in a telenovela at a point where nothing is really going to happen, just to mess with the audience?” — He said, “Yes. In Spanish, it’s called ‘suspenso falso’.” (English translation = False suspense – I’m sure even the non-bilingual peeps got that one, right? Gotta love cognates.)
Besides all this fun, Telemundo also took us to dinner. One night we went to a restaurant called “Cecconi’s” – which is much fancier than I’m used to. It was really beautiful, the waiters were attentive, the company couldn’t be beat, and (though I will seem very naca for saying this), the food was really good even if I didn’t know exactly what I was eating some of the time.
Disclosure: I went to Telemundo Studios and Cecconi’s at the invitation of Telemundo. The “Mi Corazón” shirt was gifted to me by Surropa.com. All opinions are my own.
Being Social@Telemundo
As you know, I recently went down to Miami at the invitation of Telemundo. What you probably don’t know is that it wasn’t just to attend the Latin Billboard Awards or tour their studios.
Myself and nine other blogueros, were fortunate enough to participate in Telemundo’s very first Digital Influencers Summit. Telemundo’s new digital initiative is called Social@Telemundo.
From the Press Release:
Social@Telemundo will focus on delivering its fans across Facebook & Twitter interactive experiences tied to TV programming. With dedicated Social Media resources tied to each of Telemundo’s shows and novelas the Social@Telemundo aims to take the entire TV viewing process to a more engaging level. Building of the success of its Interactive Broadband Series “Telemundo Live” and Mobile social initiatives Telemundo plans to expand its focus on sharing more access to its Studios, Shows and Talent in Spanish and English.
Borja Perez, Vice President of Digital Media and Integrated Solutions
I wrote about this experience from a more business-minded perspective on LatinaBloggersConnect.com – but here I’ll share some of the more personal chisme.
As you might expect, the room where the meeting was held contained a long conference table surrounded by chairs and a screen on the opposite wall to give presentations. Large framed posters of Telemundo shows hung on the other walls. I knew that I wouldn’t be meeting the cast of my favorite telenovela, Los Herederos del Monte, since the show is filmed in Colombia, but I wanted my photo taken with the next best thing.
(For the record, I didn’t intentionally style my hair like Paula’s. It was a happy accident… Do you think Juan del Monte might mistake me for her? …Okay, maybe not.)
During the meeting, one of the executives asked which one of us was the novelera – I raised my hand and they asked what attracted me to Los Herederos del Monte. Now, to answer this professionally or honestly? I went with honesty, responding, “Okay, at first it was because the guys are hot…” But I did explain that I later came to appreciate the complexity of the storyline and the quality of filming.
Admitting that I began watching Herederos for the eye candy made it a little hypocritical of me to ask the question I asked later – which was if Telemundo was actively trying to step away from portraying women as sex objects in their programming. (Spanish language TV in general has a reputation for this and I know it’s something that bothers a lot of Latinas.)
The President, Don Browne, welcomed the question and answered that yes, they are producing programs that portray both real and fictional women as strong, intelligent and independent. (Examples – Kate del Castillo in Reina del Sur, Dra. Ana María Polo on Caso Cerrado, Jenni Rivera, and Maria Celeste of Rojo Vivo.) They really want to break a lot of the stereotypes about Spanish language television and consciously work social issues that affect, not just women, but other segments of the viewing audience, into their programming.
We got a lot of great insight into just what Telemundo, and mun2, are about from various executives who attended the meeting, and just as importantly, we had the opportunity to give them feedback, advice and ideas. Mutual respect flowed between Telemundo and the bloggers and the atmosphere was fun yet intellectually stimulating. Telemundo has a rare chemistry, passion, creativity and positivity there which has to be experienced to really be understood. I definitely felt like I was with mi gente. (Did you know that some of the Telemundo staff, including the President himself, are “Latinos de corazón” like me?)
For lunch, we were joined by Telemundo talent; Gaby Espino, Jorge Bernal, Vanessa Hauc, Enrique Acevedo, Karim Mendiburu, Sammy Sadovik, and Jessi Losada.
Left to right: Vanessa Hauc, Gaby Espino, Jorge Bernal, Karim Mendiburu, Sammy Sadovnik
We all introduced ourselves and explained a little about our background. This conversation centered around the use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. They had a few questions (such as “What is a good tweet?”) for the bloggers, and they shared with us how they use the websites to connect to fans, etc.
All of them were really down-to-earth. While we chatted in real life, we were also tweeting each other – and those tweets were being projected onto the wall for everyone in the room to see, which was a fun idea.
As you can see, I thought Jorge Bernal was especially funny. After lunch he gave me a big kiss on the cheek and said, “Adios, gringa!”
Me and Jorge Bernal of Al Rojo Vivo
Me and Karim Mendiburu, of Titulares y Más and Ritmo Deportivo
Disclosure: I was invited to the Digital Influencers Summit at the invitation of Telemundo. All opinions are my own.
Latin Billboard Awards + The Red Carpet
I intended to share my trip chronologically but it wouldn’t be nice to make you wait more for the part you really want to hear about – la alfombra roja (red carpet), and the actual Latin Billboard Awards show.
Cuban sandwiches and other randomness, while worthy of sharing with you, are not as exciting as the main event, so here we go. (I’ll tell you about the sandwich más tarde.)
My ticket!
We arrived at the red carpet and first we were seated in the bleachers with the fans. After a little while, we were given the option to move to the press area where it would be possible to actually speak with celebrities who chose to stop, with the caveat that we would have to stand for over 2 hours. I didn’t think twice – I wanted to be with the press.
Press area near the red carpet.
(Thanks to CityChicOnline.com for the dress!)
When I got to the press area my hands started to shake. I caught a glimpse of a white cowboy hat and my heart fluttered, thinking it was Espinoza Paz. One of the blogueras who has a lot more experience with these kinds of events, kindly gave me some advice, reminding me that to gain respect I couldn’t freak out.
I think I did pretty well, despite an unintentional gasp here and there – like when Prince Royce gave me a shout-out.
Many celebrities stopped to talk, even shaking hands and giving hugs or a kiss on the cheek. One handsome telenovela actor was so close to me that I could smell the cologne on his skin and it wasn’t like he had put too much on or anything, (can’t remember which actor it was pero qué rico se huele!) I chatted up the cast of the new mun2 show, RPM Miami for a minute or two – but you know my heart was set on finding Espinoza Paz and Pitbull.
Pitbull did walk by, but didn’t stop to chat.
Ay Pitbull! So close, and yet so far away!
And it was cool to meet El Trono de Mexico.
El Trono de Mexico
El Trono de Mexico - botas picudas
I told one of the guys from El Trono, “Me gustan tus botas picudas!” and he smiled.
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More photos! (From Gloria Estefan to Marc Anthony and actors from telenovelas like Reina del Sur…
Here are some photos of the celebrities that came into the press area of the red carpet. Some stopped to talk, others just posed for photos. How many musicians and actors do you recognize?
My Flickr Slideshow of Latin Billboard Awards 2011
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Espinoza Paz never did pass by the press area – I’m not even sure he walked the red carpet. I felt a little heartbroken. I tried to spot him in the audience but wasn’t sure. At one point, I saw someone in a black cowboy hat come in late. I wonder if it was him?
I spotted Pitbull in his seat.
Pitbull seated at the Latin Billboard Awards 2011 (white jacket)
The stage set-up was super awesome. There were three stages and the one in the middle extended further into the audience. The stage had areas cut out that looked like little pools, where some very lucky fans got to stand. Stages left and right were cube shaped with walls that moved up and down. I loved the colorful lights and the feeling of the bass.
I video taped some of my favorite performances between tweeting:
One song I absolutely love that I neglected to video tape: Me Duele by Roberto Tapia. I loved the couples dancing quebradita during this performance.
The last performance of the evening – Pitbull. I don’t understand how he didn’t win anything. He brought the house down, (the shaky video is evidence of this. I was dancing.)
The last award of the night, “Artist of the Year” – went to Enrique Iglesias. To thank his fans he ran out into the audience. He ran by my section, maybe 20 feet away but I didn’t try to touch his hand. A lot of people were out of their seats and trying to do just that. I like Enrique but not enough to risk falling down stairs or getting crushed. Had it been Espinoza, that’s another story.
Disclosure: I went to the Latin Billboard Awards in Miami at the invitation of Telemundo. All opinions are my own.
Guanaco actor stars in new mun2 show
Before I visited Miami and spent time with Telemundo, I had heard of the new show on mun2 called RPM Miami. I knew it had something to do with racing cars, and since that didn’t really interest me, I didn’t look into it any further.
During my time with Telemundo I learned that one of the stars of the show, actor Adrian Bellani, is half Salvadoran. Born in Miami and raised in San Salvador, Bellani plays the character Alejandro who is a soldier returning home from a tour in Iraq. He discovers that his father is missing and while trying to find out what happened to him, gets mixed up in the world of Miami street racing.
Two other things that I liked – First, the characters on the show are all bilingual and the show is a mix of both Spanish and English. And second, RPM Miami is shot on location in Miami.
I had the opportunity to meet some of the stars and of course, my question was, “Which one of you is the guanaco?” … Well, they totally misunderstood me. They thought I was saying “El Guajo” – (which is the name of the antagonist on RPM Miami.) Too funny…Chécalo!
RPM Miami premieres Sunday May 1 @ 10p/9C on mun2.
Disclosure: I went to Miami at the invitation of Telemundo. All opinions are my own.
Shout out from Prince Royce
I have so much to share but this is one of the most exciting moments of my trip to Miami. Prince Royce, one of my favorite singers, gave a shout out to Latinaish.com from the red carpet of the Latin Billboard Music Awards. This was so kind of him, (and qué cute!)
And I’m not sure if that’s me gasping at the end or one of my amigas blogueras. It was probably me because I still feel like gasping every time I watch the video and hear him say the name of my own blog. I can’t tell you how surreal it is to stand face-to-face with famous people you admire. More to come soon!
