- Title: Ricky Martin ready to stand up to Trump for LGBT and Latino rights
- Date: 17th November 2016
- Summary: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 16, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SINGER RICKY MARTIN SAYING: "You know what, there are two eternities that can break me down, that's yesterday and tomorrow. I have no idea what's going to happen in the future of this country, I can only just hope for the best and see what happens. If things go sour, in the sense that I, as a member of the LGBT community, or a member of the Latino community in this country, if I feel threatened, I am going to be really loud but something tells me that that is not going to be necessary. I don't know if it's just that I'm hopeful and really optimistic about my life in general and my family's wellbeing that I really hope that everything is stable."
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2016 08:09
- Keywords: Ricky Martin Las Vegas LGBT Latino rights Music
- Location: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: Various
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA00258P5003
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin has a lot to celebrate. On Wednesday (November 16), the Grammy-winning artist announced a concert residency in Las Vegas and revealed he had proposed to his partner of one-year, Syrian-born artist Jwan Yosef.
But with Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocates fear a backlash against their community, as do other minorities after months of harsh rhetoric on the campaign trail.
Martin, who has spoken out against Trump ahead of the election, said he would use his celebrity to be "really loud" if he ever felt his rights being infringed on.
"I have no idea what's going to happen in the future of this country, I can only just hope for the best and see what happens," Martin told Reuters on Tuesday.
"If things go sour, in the sense that I, as a member of the LGBT community, or a member of the Latino community in this country, if I feel threatened, I am going to be really loud," said Martin.
But in the mean time, the "Livin' la Vida Loca" singer will be following in the footsteps of other top-selling artists such as Canada's Celine Dion and Britain's Elton John, who had long-term contracts in the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas.
"To be part of a group of artists that have given everything here on stage in Vegas, for me this is really beautiful. You know we are talking about Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Britney, Jennifer Lopez, Frank Sinatra, you know, just to be part of that group feels amazing and right now we just started the creative process," said Martin of the residency which kicks-off in April.
"All I want in this stage is for every song to be a completely different experience for the crowd. Right now we're you know, we're deciding on the repertoire of what songs we're going to perform; Spanish, English, how bilingual this is going to be," he added.
Martin, a father of twin boys born via surrogate, said he and his family were excited about spending time in one city after being on the road so long with his ONE WORLD TOUR which began in 2015.
"I'm just really excited to find this time where I can just be in one place. I heard at least 40 million people visit Vegas every year looking for shows and so I'm going to have the same effect, in the sense that I'm going to be able to perform to all of these cultures in one place and at the same time my family will be stable and sitting in one city so it's a ... everything is happening very beautifully and organically and I'll see how it flows," he said.
Martin also hopes to head back into the studio, something which can be difficult while on tour going from city to city.
"That is one amazing detail that I will take full advantage of while I'm here in Vegas seen as I'm stable in one place I'm going to be able to walk into the studio as much as I want and the creative process continues. I will never stop performing, I will never stop locking myself in the studio. It's how I get rid of anger, it's how I get rid of uncertainty is creating and let's see what happens next year but I will for sure will do more music," he added.
Martin, 44, announced he was gay in 2010, ending years of speculation.
The singer began his career with boy band Menudo and broke out as a solo artist and teen idol in the 1990s in Spanish-speaking countries.
He released his first English-language album in 1999, the self-titled "Ricky Martin," which saw two major hits, "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "She's All I Ever Had."
Martin's Las Vegas residency kicks off on April 5, 2017 at the Park Theater at the Monte Carlo. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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