Blogamole › Alejandro Sanz

By Michael Lopez

Judging from the Twitpic he recently posted, Robbi “Draco” Rosa is having a tough time with his cancer treatment. But, according to new reports, he's still anxious to record new music and has a ton of famous friends who are eager to help him out.

Alejandro Sanz shared some interesting news on his Twitter account this month, leading many to believe that Draco may have some recording plans in the future.

"Os dejo, voy a comer para luego grabar con Tommy Torres un tema para el disco de Draco Rosa. Un grande. Abrazos a tod@s. Se os quiere malamente," he wrote.

Rumors are also circulating that Juan Luis Guerra, Enrique Bunbury, and Ricky Martin may be joining Rosa for some duets. People en Español claims that we may even hear some new Draco sounds by as early as next May.

They say that music is therapy for the soul. So perhaps getting behind the mic may be just the type of inspiration Rosa needs to overcome his cancer diagnosis. And judging by the massive outpouring of support he already has, we’re certain it would be a bona fide smash.

Would you like to hear new music from Draco? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Draco, Draco Rosa, Enrique Bunbury, Juan Luis Guerra, Música, Ricky Martin

By Michael Lopez

In case you were wondering, today marks a lot more than the start of a new month. Around the globe, December 1 has officially become known as World AIDS Day. And this year, plenty of famous faces are speaking out to support the cause.

President Barack Obama made an impassioned speech at George Washington University this morning, telling reporters that the fight to end HIV and AIDS is far from over. He implored nations like China to contribute to the cause by donating funds to save the millions who are infected.

"Today, we come together, as a global community, across continents, faiths and cultures, to renew our commitment to ending the AIDS pandemic – once and for all," he said. "This fight isn’t over. Not for the 1.2 million Americans who are living with HIV right now. Not for the Americans who are infected every day."

In the Twitterverse, several celebrities helped spread the word too. Using the popular #WorldAIDSDay hashtag, stars like Martha Stewart and The Jonas Brothers encouraged their fans to donate.

"Want to fight for an AIDS Free Generation by 2015? Today’s the day: #WorldAIDSDay," Zach Galifianakis wrote.

Coldplay posted,

"Today’s #WorldAIDSDay. Fight for #endofAIDS."

On the Huffington Post, blogger Destiny Lopez specifically called out to the Hispanic community for support. In her article, she explained that Latinos account for one in five new HIV infections. She also published alarming stats, saying that 1 in 36 Hispanic men will contract HIV in their lifetime.

Alejandro Sanz and Paula Fernandez are doing their part to get the word out in Latin America. Their charity, “Positive Generation,” raises awareness about the disease and helps infected children in South Africa.

You can contribute too, by visiting the official World AIDS Day site and donating to help put an end to this deadly disease.

Do you know anyone who’s been impacted by AIDS? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Agentes De Cambio, AIDS, Alejandro Sanz, Barack Obama, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Celebrities, Coldplay, Cultura, Destiny Lopez, Health, HIV, Paula Fernandez, Positive Generation, President Obama, World AIDS Day, Zach Galifianakis

By Michael Lopez

Sure he's won Grammys and sold millions of albums, but Alejandro Sanz' latest honor may be his most prestigious yet. This week, the legendary Latin pop star received a gold medal in Fine Arts from Spain’s King Juan Carlos.

The honor was for Alejandro's musical contributions throughout the past three decades. A proud Spanish citizen himself, Sanz seemed touched by the honor, happily shaking the hands of Juan Carlos and his wife Queen Sofia.

Alejandro took a break from filming La Voz Mexico to attend the event and brought his good buddy David Bisbal along with him. The timing of the honor actually seems quite fitting too. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Sanz' smash debut album, Viviendo Deprisa.

The awards ceremony took place at El Pardo Palace in Madrid and, as expected, there were tons of photographers on hand to capture the moment. We, for one, are glad the royals recognized Sanz' music. Hopefully they'll extend the Fine Arts medal to a few more hometown heroes in the years to come.

Who's your favorite Spanish musician? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Blogger: Michael Lopez, David Bisbal, King Juan Carlos, La Voz Mexico, Música, Royals, Spain, Viviendo Deprisa

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Grammy Award Winner Alejandro Sanz team up with Miami artist Leonardo Hidalgo to honor firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.

In the opening night of  Hidalgo's exhibition "Remembering heroes of America", Sanz donated a colorful guitar, which will be auctioned in order to raise funds for The Benevolent Association -benefiting firefighters.

Present at the opening of the Expo were the city of Miami's firefighters, who supported Hidalgo's impressive work.

Leonardo Hidalgo, an internationally known pop artist based in Miami, tells the story of 9/11 from a unique and artistic uplifting perspective through his eye popping vibrant color large scale paintings.  The private opening reception took place this Friday, September 9, 2011.

Hidalgo has created a visual feast of 12 large-scale paintings exploring the meaning of good and evil, freedom, liberty, the force of divine justice and superheroes.  In these painting he wants to honor the memory of the lives lost in the attacks of 9/11, the firefighters, police rescue units and the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives to defend our liberty.

The exhibition will be open to the public through September 25, 2011 at CAFEINA Wynwood Lounge in Miami.

Tags 9/11, Alejandro Sanz, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Cafeina Wynwood Lounge, Firefighters, Leonardo Hidalgo, nydf, september 11, world trade center

By Michael Lopez

You've got to hand it to the producers of La Voz Mexico, they scored a major victory in the celebrity coaching department. Latin Gossip just announced that Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz will be joining the cast of the heavily hyped reality show.

Based on NBC's popular series, The Voice, La Voz Mexico will be using the same premise of finding music stars based on vocal talents alone. The American version scored huge ratings over the spring and helped revitalize the careers of Christina Aguilera and Carson Daly.

La Voz Mexico hopes to capitalize on the brand's notoriety and has hired its own batch of famous faces to help judge the contestants. Outside of Alejandro, the series will feature Lucero, Aleks Syntek, and Espinoza Paz.

Commenting on the big announcement, Sanz tweeted,

"Estoy muy contento de participar en @LaVozMexico me encanta el formato y la oportunidad de participar en el descubrimiento de un nuevo artista de verdad."

Do you plan on watching La Voz Mexico? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Blogger: Michael Lopez, La Voz Mexico, La Voz...Mexico, Lucero, Música, Television, The Voice

By Michael Lopez

You've got to wonder if it's time for Alejandro Sanz to make an appearance on The Maury Show. This past week, a 21-year-old woman named Isabel Vasquez came forward claiming she was his long lost daughter. And before that, Alejandro came clean about a "secret son" born in 2003.

Sanz also has a daughter with ex wife Jaydy Michel and is expecting a baby boy this summer with his fiancé Raquel Perera.

Isabel is reportedly the product of a fling Sanz had with a singer named Charo Berea back in 1990. She claims she had no clue the Spanish rocker was her dad until her madre revealed the secret around her 18th birthday.

Now Vasquez is ready to find out for sure, thanks to some advanced DNA testing. She has already gone to the courts in the hopes of forcing Alejandro to take a paternity test. Not surprisingly, Sanz' camp has already issued a "no comment" statement.

It all makes for some very interesting chisme. We hope, if she is his daughter, Alejandro does the right thing and 'fesses up. And if he needs some guidance on the issue, we know one person who would make a great counselor.

Do you think a lot of celebrities have secret love children? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Charo Berea, Chisme, Isabel Vasquez

By Maria Corina Marrero

It's a very good year for Jarabe De Palo, the international Spanish band, led by Pau Dones, which broke into the international music scene with their legendary hit "La Flaca". The band, which has sold over 5 million records and has garnered 10 Latin Grammy nominations, is facing one of the best moments of its career.

The Barcelona-based band known for their characteristic sound which laces catchy blues with rock and Latin rhythms, has a brand new album out, ¿Y Ahora Qué Hacemos?. The first single is "La Quiero A Morir", a cover of the French classic, "Je l'aime a mourir." The track continues to build momentum featuring superstar Alejandro Sanz on vocals.

But Sanz is not the only famous collaborator on this new album. The work also features artists and personal friends of the band members such as Joaquin Sabina, Antonio Orozco and Carlos Tarque.

"We surrounded ourselves with friends on this album," said Dones. "All of these great collaborations weren’t chosen for their popularity, rather for their talent."

And as the single climbs the charts and the band rescues their rocker vein, the timing could not be better to announce the US Tour

If you're a fan of "Bonito" and all of those inspiring amazing songs by Dones, this is your chance to catch them live in your backyard!

Save the dates:

7/5 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
7/6 - Central Park SummerStage (LAMC) - New York, NY
7/7 - The State Theatre - Falls Church, VA
7/9 - 4th & B - San Diego, CA
7/10 - The Music Box - Hollywood, CA

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Blogger: Maria Corina Marrero, Jarabe de Palo, Latin Grammys, Pau Dones

By Michael Lopez

Who knew Alejandro Sanz was so sensitive? In a somewhat bizarre letter to his fans, the Spanish singer announced that he was dropping his Twitter account because of too many criticisms about his spelling. Not only that, he signed off with the harsh statement, "goodbye and burn!"

"Hoy decido que dejo de escribir en twitter hay un grupo de gente que me estan culpando de haber escrito 'vuestra' con 'b' cuando no es verdad, solo para dejarme en ridiculo," Alejandro wrote. "Lo que yo escribi es 'nuestra gente' pero estoy harto de tanto ataque y tanta falacia, tanta mala baba y tanto esfuerzo para darle vida a gente sin alma, sin cultura y sin corazón. Leere los twitters de mi gente y escribire a quien quiera pero no pienso seguirle el juego a tant@ gente sin corazon. Adios y que ardan."

And keep in mind, Sanz wasn’t just a casual tweeter. At the time he dismantled the account, he was sporting roughly 2.5 million followers! We're sure a good majority of them were ardent supporters of his music. So is he really leaving them all hanging because of a few disgruntled spell checkers?

It certainly looks like that's the case. But, as we've seen in the past, celebs abandoning their Twitter accounts make a temporary decision. Both Demi Lovato and Alicia Machado came back to the twitterverse after extended breaks. Let’s hope Alejandro decides to do the same.

Do you think Alejandro will return to Twitter? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Celebrities, Chisme, Música, twitter

By Sugey Palomares

DLG's version of "La Quiero A Morir" may be a classic dance floor favorite, but once you listen to JarabeDePalo And Alejandro Sanz's version you will be hooked on their romantic roquero rendition.

The track, which is originally a French classic titled "Je l’aime a mourir," is the first single off the group's new album "¿Y Ahora Qué Hacemos?."

The Spanish group made up of talented musicians Pau Donés, Carmen Niño, Alex Tenas, Jordi Busquets, and Riki Frouchtman first landed on the scene in the mid-1990's with their hit single "La Flaca." Many believed that the blues and rock fusion band would quickly become a one-hit wonder, but after winning Premios de la Música awards and snagging Grammy nominations they proved that they were just getting started.

The front-man behind the catchy verses, Pau Dones, recently dished on their new project:

"In the fall of 2008, I was preparing to make an album full with ballads, slow songs about love. But I changed my mind and took a completely different course...That’s when I decided to go forward with 'Y Ahora Qué Hacemos?.' On this album, we wanted to restore our rocker vein and leave the laidback Latin percussion and timbao. We’ve made an album of pure rock, with drums, bass, guitar and vocals."

We are glad they went for a path less traveled! The album, which is out today, also includes collaborations by Joaquin Sabina, Antonio Orozco and Carlos Tarque.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Alex Tenas, Carmen Nino, DLG, JarabeDePalo, Jordi Busquets, La Quiero A Morir, Latin Music, Musica Latina, Nueva Musica Latina

By Michael Lopez

Some voices never go out of style. Though he’s been crooning soft hits for nearly 60 years, Tony Bennett’s trademark sound is still as relevant as ever. Now the 84 year-old legend has announced he’s recording a new Duets album and he’s bringing along Amy Winehouse, Mariah Carey, and Alejandro Sanz to join him.

Bennett loves sharing the mic with superstars. His 2006 album Duets: An American Classic paired him with artists like Paul McCartney and Celine Dion. Seeing how it sold millions of copies and won him two Grammys, it’s no surprise that Tony is ready for a follow-up.

And Bennett is no stranger to incorporating a few Latin rhythms into his eclectic style. On his first Duets album, he recorded the 1960’s classic “The Shadow Of Your Smile” with a little help from Colombian rocker Juanes. Though the track Tony and Alejandro are recording together hasn’t been confirmed, we imagine it will incorporate at least a few of Sanz’ trademark salsa inflections.

Anyone subscribing to Alejandro’s Twitter account could obviously see how impressed the Spanish singer was to be in the presence of a musical icon.

“The great Tony Bennett, just recorded a duet for his new album that will be released in september. It was soo amazing to record with this legend and in the very studio Elvis made most of his music. Ay ay ay, life is sweet!”

Tony Bennett’s Duets II is scheduled to be released this September.

Are you excited about Tony and Alejandro’s Duet? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alejandro Sanz, Amy Winehouse, Celine Dion, Duets II, Hot Stuff, Mariah Carey, Música, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett