Jim Abbott | Orlando Sentinel Pop Music Critic
Posted May 18, 2007
Ricky Martin is a humanitarian ambassador now, and he really hates that "Shake Your Bon-Bon" song, but some things never change.
The singer still loves to put on a big, splashy live show, which is what fans can expect on Sunday at the Amway Arena.
"On this tour, the stage I've prepared and the amount of people on stage on this tour is pretty significant," Martin says by phone before a recent sound check in Corpus Christi, Texas. "I needed to go back to the arenas, and I'm very happy with this show. The audience is reacting in a very cool way."
Last year, Martin scaled back his concert vision to fit into theaters for a tour that included a stop at Orlando's Carr Performing Arts Centre. That idea dovetailed with the understated music on Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged, which spawned the Spanish-language hit "Tu Recuerdo."
The turn toward smaller, more intimate venues, however, was just a side trip for a singer who doesn't ascribe to the notion that less is more.
"The more tools to have fun on stage, the better, I believe. I did theater for a long time, and in theater, you have the intimacy, but at same time, there's so much going on. It's the same with music, there's the acting, the dancing, the singing.
"That's how I started, and right now, it's about me being active and being ready to be in the next position. There's lots of choreography, and it's very theatrical."
As for his own energy level, it's always the same, no matter how big the audience.
"Emotionally, physically speaking, I don't change it. It's about having fun, and it's 1 hour and 45 minutes full on."
Compassion for children
Nowadays, Martin is equally committed to an assortment of humanitarian causes, most notably preventing the trafficking of children. This past fall, he testified before a congressional committee about situations he has observed as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of the Ricky Martin Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on children's rights.
His interest was inspired by the plight of three young girls he observed in the streets of Calcutta, while he was visiting a friend there in 2002.
"I had no idea," Martin says. "It was a turning point, and I started educating myself on this issue. It's all over the world, including America. Powerful countries are victims of this stupid industry, and if I don't say something about it, I'm allowing it to happen."
Martin acknowledges that his role as a musical celebrity provides a forum for his activism but adds that the activism also inspires him musically.
"I created my foundation because of music, because music helped me go around the world and exchange ideas with people and -- how can I say this? -- they educated me about child trafficking. Now that I'm an activist, I need music to communicate about it. One feeds the other."
Martin's evolving interests are reflected on stage, where he considers a highlight of his current show a segment in which he talks to the audience about his recent experiences around the world.
"There's a very cool moment when I just stand there and express my emotions," he says. "I share with the audience where I've been on this journey and then share with them a collage of pictures of my journeys. I talk about gratitude and what really moves me today."
That list still includes a few of his signature hits, such as a retooled "Living La Vida Loca," even if "Shake Your Bon-Bon" isn't remembered so fondly.
"You'd have to pay me so much money," Martin says, "to sing that song again."
