USA: MELANIE GRIFFITH AND PENELOPE CRUZ LAUNCH THE U.S. BRANCH OF THE SABERA FOUNDATIONS

Record ID: 393156

  • Title: USA: MELANIE GRIFFITH AND PENELOPE CRUZ LAUNCH THE U.S. BRANCH OF THE SABERA FOUNDATIONS
  • Date: 10th October 2002
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 10, 2002) (REUTERS) MCU (English) MELANIE GRIFFITH SAYING: "Because Sting said yes that opened all the doors for us, at least from my side."
  • Embargoed: 25th October 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment,General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3227UU1RP7LB6WOU3MRT8X3PK
  • Story Text: Melanie Griffith and Penelope Cruz have launched the U.S. branch of the SABERA Foundation. The two actresses held a press conference on Thursday (October 10) to discuss the good works this non-profit organization hopes to accomplish with money raised from a new celebrity packed musical CD.
    The press conference was also held to announce the "Voices of Hope" CD that will benefit the SABERA Foundation, which is being released by Ark 21 Records in the United States on November 19, 2002. The album features some of the world's top selling artists, including Bob Dylan, Alanis Morissette, Sting, Ricky Martin, Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Spanish artists on the album include Alejandro Sanz, Ketama, Rosario Flores and Vicente Amigo.
    The idea of the album came from Griffith. "Because I made a movie with Sting 15 years ago, and Trudy, his wife, is one of my best friends and I called him and asked him if he would give us a song and I told him what was going on with SABERA and the foundation and the idea for the album and he said yes immediately he was fantastic," Griffith told the press conference.
    The album also contains previously released tracks, however each song has been altered to make them unique to the CD. For example, on the Sting song, 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot,' there is the voice of Sting mixed with the [flamenco] guitar of Vicente Amigo and a chorus sung by the Indian girls from the foundation.
    Cruz persuaded Dylan to rerecord "Knocking on Heaven's Door" for the album after learning that they shared the same dentist. Griffith's husband, Antonio Banderas, sings John Lennon's "Imagine," and Griffith duets with her sister, Tracy.
    Cruz has a solo performance. About half the songs were recorded at the Hollywood home of Banderas and Griffith, while some of the artists--including Cruz, Griffith, and Martin--recorded their songs in India while visiting the orphanage.
    Organizing the project is Nacho Cano, one of three members of the now-defunct band Mecano, which remains Spain's biggest-selling pop group. Cano, who produced the album, founded the Sabera Foundation in 1999 after directing a documentary about young homeless girls in Calcutta.
    The foundation--which boasts Cruz, a former girlfriend of Cano, and Griffith as co-presidents--runs several projects aimed at improving the life of females in India, particularly for 300 girls at Calcutta's Sabera Orphanage, which it funds.
    Sabera is the name of a girl Cano rescued from a life searching for food and items of value on a Calcutta garbage dump.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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