Pop star Ricky Martin has dedicated himself to the campaign against child trafficking.
"The biggest issue society's facing at the moment is arms trafficking, and then drug trafficking," Martin said in a recent interview. "And the third, but the fastest-growing, is human trafficking. This is something that is happening in every corner of the world. It doesn't matter how poor the country is, or how powerful the country is."

So why did he get involved?
"Why? Because it's either that or go to a mental hospital, bro. Because it's so intense that the only way I can get rid of this anger, this frustration. It's literally creating a cathartic process, venting this thing out."

Martin has been crusading against human trafficking for several years with his Ricky Martin Foundation, which combats child exploitation, provides creative outlets for disadvantaged youths and helps victims of natural disasters.

Martin will be recognized, in part for those efforts, as the 2006 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year at a tribute dinner and concert tonight, the night before the Latin Grammy Awards in New York. Martin was chosen for his accomplishments as a world-renowned entertainer and passionate humanitarian.

You almost could call it Ricky Martin week.
His new "Ricky Martin: MTV Unplugged" special premieres today on MTV Tr3s and MTV Latin America. Martin also is performing at the Latin Grammys on Thursday; the awards show will air on
Univision beginning at 7 p.m.

And on Tuesday, "Ricky Martin: MTV Unplugged" will be released in the U.S. on CD and DVD.
Martin said he first became interested in the issue of human trafficking when he visited India a few years ago.

"I went to India, and I don't know if I should say 'donated my time,' but I started working for this orphanage and rescuing girls from the streets, bringing them into this home," he said. "I started educating myself. 'What would have happened to the girls if an organization like this didn't exist?'"
Martin also started learning more about the reality of child pornography and child prostitution.
"I was just freaking out, because this is so massive, and people don't know about this," he said. "Why don't we know about this? Because it's organized crime. And everything is done under the radar. Everything that I did philanthropically before I created the People for Children Project within my foundation, I did very discreetly, because some messed-up people out there said, 'Ricky, you're doing this because you want the attention of the press.'"

After working quietly for some time, Martin was persuaded to go public.
"Everything that I did, I did in silence and it felt really good. Until I talked to some activists and even some victims of this issue. They said, 'Dude, we need your voice,'" he said. "One of the guys said, 'I've been working on this for 10 years, and no one is listening. If you start screaming out loud what's going on, at least people will start talking about it and people will bring the subject to the dinner table.' And after that, we can go to the leaders and start petitioning and bringing options to the table of things that could help."

After the superheated years after his breakthrough with the smash hit "Livin' la Vida Loca," Martin said he took some time off to recharge. "Ricky Martin: MTV Unplugged" was another way to reconnect with himself, he added.

"I believe that at this point of my life, it's exactly what I need," he said. "This is my gratification, for the last couple of years. My tours were all about the big concerts, the big venues and massive productions. Then, after spending some time, literally, in silence, I've had the opportunity to take another glance at what my sounds were like, six, seven, eight years ago. And I believe it was very important for me to reinvent some of those sounds. Sounds that I love. Sounds that are a very important part of my career."