The Flip Side

Alejandro Sanz
(You may remember his duet with Shakira on “La Tortura”.)
NEW YORK (AP) — More than 80 performers and other celebrities have signed a statement supporting Grammy-winning Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz after two Venezuelan concerts were canceled because of his criticism of Hugo Chavez.
The letter, released Wednesday, was signed by performers including Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Penelope Cruz and even soccer star David Beckham. It said the signers “believe in a Latin America where we are all free to express our views.”
Venezuelan organizers last week announced that Sanz’s sold-out Feb. 14 concert in Caracas was canceled because it lacked “the appropriate conditions.” A November concert also was scrapped when officials withdrew permission to use a government auditorium.
Sanz’s criticism of President Hugo Chavez led Venezuelan officials to declare he is not welcome in the country — though ticket sales to fans might indicate otherwise.

Sanz closed a Sunday concert in the Dominican Republic by dedicating a song to his Venzuelan fans: “a bunch of people in a country where I cannot go.”

Shakira (love the pink Converse)

While other musicians and celebs attended the Grammys, Shakira took some time to enjoy her farm in Uruguay and write new songs.  I love the fact that Shakira does so much for charity and is so grounded considering her fame all over the Americas .

Shakira

I’m thrilled to have Shakira featured so many times on my blog.  And that’s because I like to focus on charity and humanitarian work and Shakira does tons of that.  Saturday night she attended the “A Heart For Children” charity event in Berlin.  The charity raises money for sick, handicapped and neglected children in Germany.  I think Shakira deserves a medal for all the work she does all over the world.  More than that, I hope more people take a cue from her and do more work of their own.

Shakira

What a generous lady.  She’s done a lot for charities this year.  She performed inside the Rain Nightclub in the Palms LV as a charity benefit for The Bare Feet Foundation (Pies Desalzos Foundation). 

From Wikipedia:  Pies Descalzos Foundation (Bare Feet Foundation) is a Colombian charity founded by pop artist Shakira in 1997[1] with special schools for poor kids all over Colombia.
Their programs and services offer genuine solutions to improve the children’s quality of life. They recognize and respect their basic rights and treat them as worthy individuals.

Travis Barker

Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead

You may have noticed how talented Zach is when it comes to concert/live photographs.  It’s obvious why mags like Rolling Stone love his work.

Shakira

Oh sure, we love her singing and her dancing.  But we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, what you do to help others with what you’ve been given is most important.

From BBC News:

A charitable foundation set up by Colombian pop star Shakira has donated $40 million (£19.6 million) to help victims of natural disasters.

The money will go towards repairing damage caused by an earthquake in Peru and a hurricane in Nicaragua .

A further $5 million (£2.46 million) will be spent on health and education in four Latin American countries.

Her foundation, Latin America in Solidarity Action, was set up with fellow Colombian and Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in a bid to combat the deaths of children.

Shakira also fronts a charity to help children who are victims of violence.

That pretty much says it all.  I love passing along the generous deeds of generous people.