Shakira takes appeal for Latin America's poor kids to New York

Remember how we reported earlier this year from Mexico on ALAS, a new charity initiative by Colombian superstar Shakira to aid Latin America's millions of poor, malnourished and undereducated children?

Well, she's at it again, this time in New York and accompanied by Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz.

But her companions weren't just other Spanish-speaking pop stars but rather the presidents of Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Panama and Paraguay.

The singers asked the presidents to adopt an agreement on combating child poverty during the upcoming Iberoamerican Summit in late October. ''If we win your personal commitment today, we will have opened the future of Latin America,'' said Sanz, a Spaniard.

''I promised Shakira that in the next summit, which is in El Salvador, we will work on the topic,'' Salvadoran President Tony Saca told a crowd of 1,000 at Columbia University in New York, where the presidents are attending the United Nations General Assembly.

The five leaders spoke of child poverty in their countries and expressed interest in the project -- as well as admiration for the artists' work through ALAS.

Source:http://www.miamiherald.com/

First dress rehearsal took place in Limassol

In the Spyros Kyprianou Arena, the first dress rehearsal of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place. Giorgos Ioannides, who represented Cyprus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest last year, is the star of the opening sequence that switches between kids on stage and kids dancing all around Limassol.
Following the opening act with eighty dancers, the presenters of the show appear on stage. Sophia Paraskeva and Alex Michael appear rising from the floor, looking as if appearing through a fountain of water. The participants enter the hall walking down the stairs through the audience, carrying a large sun shaped flag of their country.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest cooperates with UNICEF and that you will notice throughout the show. UNICEF ambassadors like David Beckham, Shakira, Robbie Williams and Whoopi Goldberg are the first ones to make you aware that not all children in the world live in wealth and peace. When the hosts explained how to vote, it is time to open the televoting and kick off the show with the first participants from Romania.

After the first three countries - Romania, Armenia and Belarus - performed, you can see last year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest Sipke Jan Bousema elaborating on the UNICEF project. Following the performances of Russia and Greece, you can see Sipke Jan in another postcard together with the Junior Eurovision Song Contest participants.

Georgia is next after the short break after which a postcard of the sandy beach introduces Oliver, the Belgian candidate. Bulgaria, Serbia, Malta and the Netherlands. Beckham, Shakira and Robbie promote UNICEF once more and make it possible again for broadcasters to air a commercial break. Sophia Paraskeva and Alex Michael then show up again before the show continues with the last four candidates from Ukraine, Lithuania, Macedonia and Cyprus. With a recap off all songs, the viewers are asked to vote for their favourite participants and to suppurt UNICEF.

Evridiki and Dimitris Korgialas (stand-ins for the moment) take the stage to sing this year's Junior Eurovision theme song Fun In The Sun and dancers form the word FUN on stage. Another recap of the songs is aired for them who couldn't make up their mind yet. Dima Bilan, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest gets introduced.

Following a report on the Lemesos Parade which took place in Limassol last Monday, the candidates all together hand in hand sing the UNICEF song Hand In Hand. Another review on what the candidates did in Cyprus this week, an interview with and performance of Dima Bilan (a stand-in for the moment) later, a video with last years Belarusian winner Alexey and the usual chat with Svante Stockselius, the points can finally be revealed.

Source: http://www.belgovision.com/en/index_f.php?id=4846

Shakira to lobby on child welfare

Shakira to lobby on child welfare

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Latin pop star Shakira, showing she can move more than her hips, will lobby Latin American presidents this week to start a regional project to pump money into children's health and education.

The singer will address a summit in El Salvador of Ibero-American leaders, including the presidents of Brazil and her native Colombia, over the need to feed and educate poor children, especially amid a global economic slowdown.

"There are difficult times coming in Latin America. Thousands and thousands of children will die if governments do not organize ways to distribute food during this crisis," Shakira told Reuters.

"I grew up in the developing world and I have witnessed the lack of opportunities that children have to live with," she added, speaking by telephone from Miami.

"In a country like mine, when a child is born poor, people die poor. But I'm fascinated by the fact that through education you can transform lives, you can end this cycle of poverty."

Some 35 million children live in poverty in Latin America with little or no access to proper food and education, Shakira said. Investing in a year of primary education can increase a person's adult income by up to 20 percent, she added.

Shakira's hip-swivelling dances and catchy ballads have earned her a huge global following and a string of Grammy awards. She began getting into social issues just a few years into her pop career, starting a Colombian children's charity called the Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet) Foundation in 1997, named after her breakthrough hit album released a year before.

While celebrities like Bono and Angelina Jolie have focused on Africa, Shakira uses her fame to make headlines on Latin America, where stubbornly high poverty levels can get overlooked because of healthier overall economic indicators.

Shakira helped launch the Fundacion ALAS (Latin America in Solidarity Action), which is behind the new initiative, and has lobbied British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the U.S. Congress on the need to educate children in poor countries.

"My heart is committed to this cause and it has been there for a long time, since I was 18," said Shakira, now 31, who has sold some 50 million albums around the world.

"I like to think that I can use my public profile to bring attention to more important issues than my own."

Her new project will seek funding from organizations like the World Bank and would monitor governments' efforts closely, although the golden-tressed singer regretted she would not have time to get involved in inspection efforts on the ground.

SOURCE:http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSTRE49S90Z20081030

Shakira: No Time for a Baby

Saying she's pregnant enough with her songs, Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira said she has no current plans to have a baby, despite her work on behalf of Latin American children, the New York Daily News reports.

"I'm quite pregnant with my album," the 31-year-old Colombian pop star told the Daily News, although she said she does want to be a mother eventually.

Shakira appeared at a regional summit in El Salvador on Thursday, where she asked about 20 Latin American presidents to allot more resources for poor children and to make early-childhood development a priority. The United Nations goodwill ambassador is appearing at the summit on behalf of the Latin America in Solidarity Action Foundation.

Source:http://www.diversityinc.com/public/4693.cfm

Scammers Fake Shakira Show To Sell Tickets

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Two bounced checks led officers to discover a scam where a music festival headlined by Shakira was faked to sell tickets, police said.

Beaverton police responded Friday to a call at Lazerquick at 2770 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. at about 11:45 a.m. for a report of a theft where a woman had written two bad checks that totaled more than $5,000, Detective Pam Yazzolino said.

The merchandise which had been purchased with those checks by Olga Antroprova, 24, was fliers and posters promoting a fake concert headlined by the singer Shakira, which was said to be in Bellevue, Wash. from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, Yazzolino said.

The show was being promoted as the First Annual International Dance Festival.

To sell the phony tickets the scammers had set up a Web site where they could be purchased for $230 each, Yazzolino said.

She said it isn't known how many of the fake tickets were sold or how many victims there have been.

On Monday, detectives arrested Nguyen Nguyen, 35, on three outstanding warrants and are investigating his involvement with the fake concert ticket scam, Yazzolino said.

Antroprova voluntarily came forward and is cooperating with detectives, Yazzolino said.

Beaverton police are continuing the investigation into the scam. Anyone with information or who may have been a victim should call Detective Mike Hanada at 503.526.2267.

Source:http://www.kptv.com/news/17844085/detail.html#