Five Reasons Why Ricky Martin is Hot

Image by Cool Pixels via Flickr

When interviewed by a women’s magazine, Lera Loeb, an Ukranian immigrant and New York-based fashion blogger, said:

I worked so hard to impress [my American boyfriend] with my English vocabulary and American cultural references. (I didn’t always succeed, however. Ricky Martin was the only Western singer who was “hot” in Ukraine then, but Steve sweetly informed me that he wasn’t exactly the coolest musician in the States.) I guess I was surprised that I had actually found a guy who seemed cultured and witty.
Okay. First of all, thanks to this successful couple, the Loebs, who has inspired me to write about them for the second time.

About the Loebs’ opinion about Ricky Martin I may understand why many people think Puerto Rican star Ricky is not the greatest singer. For one, even though his dancing and performance are great, his voice scale is not that diverse.
HOWEVER, what makes this young man GRAND is much more than being Ricky Martin the Singer. It is his social consciousness; the fact that even though he has had a good life (which he has earned by working hard), he is very aware that there are thousands of people dying of malnourishment and abuse around the world. He knows children are exploited both physically and sexually in many countries, that women are abused and that drugs are corrupting almost every society around the world.

But the most important part is: he has done SOMETHING about it. And he doesn’t brag about it.

1. Let’s start with The Ricky Martin Foundation – The following information and statistics are from the website rickymartinfoundation.org. The foundation deals with the following social problems: CHILD TRAFFICKING The best available estimate is that 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year for exploitation purposes such as forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, prostitution and servitude, among other forms of slavery.
 BIRTH REGISTRATION Every year over 50 million children begin a life with no access to the most basic human rights. They have no identity; they are invisible. VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN Worldwide, an estimated 40 million children under the age of 15 suffer from violence, abuse and neglect. EDUCATION Nearly 115 million children are out of school. Globally, some 54% of the children out of primary school are girls. HEALTH More than 10 million children under the age of five die each year. Two thirds of both neonatal and young child deaths – every year, over six million of those deaths – can be prevented.
2. In addition to the numerous awards received throughout his musical career, Martin has also been honored for his humanitarian efforts including: The Leadership in the Arts Award; Billboard’s Spirit of Hope Award, The Alma Award, Vanguard Award; International Humanitarian Award by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children; Hispanic Heritage Award for his humanitarian work through the Sabera Foundation in rescuing three orphan girls from the streets of Calcutta.
3. During the 2004 Tsunami, Martin visited Thailand shortly after it ravaged the Indian Ocean basin. There, he told reporters at the Foreign Affairs Ministry that after watching all the damage on tv, he was very moved and wanted to do something about it. His foundation helped rebuild houses and schools.
4. In Puerto Rico he has worked to improve the lives of hundreds of poor, disadvantaged children, by building schools, visiting shelters and always looking for ways to contribute.
5. He is an advocate of Human Rights through active participation in the following organizations: ALAS, International Organization for Migration, Yo Amo America Campaign and others.

I can understand why some men will discourage their young fiancées from admiring a much younger, good-looking, successful, honest man. But life has taught me that as we mature we start having our own objective opinions. We start taking other’s input as part of your own decisional process regarding what we like and what we don’t like. This is good. It is called independence.

Once we reach a level of independece, we are going to want to help others reach independence as well. Some do it by working on behalf battered women and children, the poor, the malnourished, the unhappy and unfulfilled. In the case of Lera, she may even want start a new blog that is not only about fashion and glamour. How about one that will encourage the young women in Ukrania, her home country, to pursue their right to education, social contribution and fair job opportunities?

Okay. I promise I won’t write again about the Loebs. Unless they give me a reason.