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By Larry Yepez Jr

The Colombian artist Jiggy Drama presented his latest musical production, 'Nerdside', in Los Angeles this week. The album is Alternative Urban music that goes on a trip through the genres of music that influences Jiggy Drama.

'Nerdside' is made up of 15 tracks and all tell the story of a Nerd that turns 'Cool', Jiggy Drama told Efe in an interview @ the Russel Harris Event Group in North Hollywood, CA.

"Musically I take a long journey thought the musical genres that I grew up with, this is why I define it as an Urban Alternative Record, it's not so underground to be considered Hip-Hop nor too commercial to be considered reggeaetón"

Jiggy Drama was born in the Colombian Island of San Andrés in 1983 as Hearton Lever Junior. He decided to change his name to Jiggy inspired by Will Smith's song "Getting Jiggy with it" and the he added to his name the word Drama, because he says that each of his songs is a dramatization.

People have gotten to know Jiggy Drama thanks to the internet. Last year he posted the video from his song La Fuga which from word of mouth grew from hundreds to thousands and now over 15 million views!

Somebody who saw my video on youtube called Colombian Top 40 Radio Dj and requested the song, which he played directly from Youtube on the air. Soon after people started calling in to request the song all over the country. This prompted the radio producers to look for and schedule a meeting with Mr. Drama and aside from La Fuga, he brought his other tracks La Flaka, El Culpable and Me Vale.

"Nerdside" is a co-production of Akela Family and El Ritmo Records the songs are now available on iTunes but the actual album will hit the shelves next month.

We @Tr3s named Jiggy Drama as the featured artist of the month on  'Descubre & Download' where La Fuga is the most downloaded song.

Jiggy Drama is currently in promotional tour in the U.S. where his first presentation will be on October 1st @ La Covacha Club in Miami.

Have you heard Jiggy Drama? What do you think of this new artist?

Tags Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Colombia, Hearton Lever Junior, Jiggy Drama, Nerdside

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Porfirio, a co-production of Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and France, was selected for the 36th Annual Toronto Film Festival, one of the main festivals to keep an eye on for films for the upcoming Academy Awards.

The film tells the dramatic story of a handicapped man who hijacked a plane in order to get the attention of the Colombian government. The film is based on a real-life story, which took place on September 12, 2005 in Florencia, capital of the state of Caquetá in Colombia.

Porfirio was directed by Alejandro Landes, who convinced the actual protagonist of the story -Porfirio Ramírez Aldana-to play himself in the cinematic version.

Landes became interested in a movie project when he heard the story of a 56 years-old man who became paraplegic after being shot in the Colombian internal war with the guerrilla and not getting any compensation from the government, which led him to take a plane hostage so his voice could be heard. The man at first didn't trust the filmmaker's intentions, but when no one else came to him showing interest in his story, he accepted to work with the director.

Pre-production for Porfirio took place at The Sundance Labs. The movie then went on to play at Cannes and has been winning some important awards including the Cinédécouvertes Award in Belgium, and the coveted the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film in the Amsterdam World Cinema Festival. 'Porfirio' was also selected to play at this year's San Sebastián Film Festival.  Do I smell the first Foreign Film Academy Award Nomination for Colombia?

The 2011 Toronto Film Festival will take place from September 8th through the 18th, and will show a  total of over 300 films. Lets hope Porfirio gets some recognition and Latin American films get represented the way they should be!

Does Porfirio have a chance to be recognized at the Oscars?

Tags Academy Awards, Alejandro Landes, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Cannes Film Festival, Colombia, Porfirio, San Sebastián Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival

By Michael Lopez

If you delve a bit into the new movie Colombiana, you can see why some Colombians might be a bit peeved. For one thing, the character of "Colombiana" is played by Zoe Saldana, who is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. But beyond that, many locals believe that the film portrays their home turf in a negative light.

For years, Hollywood has associated Colombia with drugs and violence. Whether it was cocaine lords from Scarface or all those glamorized Pablo Escobar biopics, none of the recent films about the country have helped boost tourism.

And it looks like Colombiana may continue that trend. Based around a female assassin from Bogota, it's supposedly got a ton of gun battles and some ruthless Colombian villains. The movie has stirred up so much negative buzz that an anti-Colombiana fan page has popped up on the social networks.

Using the hashtag #ColombiaIsBeautiful, a group of concerned citizens have been working to change the negative depictions of their country. Carlos Macías, president of the organization PorColombia, also spoke out on the issue.

"We are not happy with Sony Pictures cashing in on our already tarnished reputation," he said. "Anyone can highlight positive or negative stereotypes, we only ask that you do it within context, not just randomly for your benefit while denigrating others."

Macías has asked Sony, which distributes the film, to donate a portion of Colombiana's profits to various charities throughout his country.

Do you think Colombians are portrayed negatively in movies? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Chisme, Colombia, Colombiana, Movies & CineMás, Zoe Saldana

By Larry Yepez Jr.

The Colombian salsa leyend died this morning in La Asunción Clinic of Barranquilla, after battling health problems since the end of May. He was in the ICU of the medical center for 29 days.

"El Joe" was one of the most important artists in the tropical music genre and became famous for popular songs like "Tania", "La Noche" (covered by many, including Juanes) and "Rebelión" (also known as "No le pegue a la Neeegra"), which I'm sure most of us have heard, danced and/or sang to the top of our lungs at some point of our lives!

Joe was going through quite a few health problems including lung failure, heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. He died of what is known as multi organ failure.

Alvaro José Arroyo González, El Gran Joe, was born in Cartagena on November 1st, 1955. Soon began the myth of the little boy who's vocal chords were touched by God. At the age of 15, Arroyo was the lead singer of del Súper Combo Los Diamantes in Sincelejo; at 16 he was lead of La Protesta in Barranquilla; at 17 he was the voice of Fruko y sus Tesos, touring all of Colombia, and at 24 his talent went worldwide with La Verdad.

At the time of his passing,  he was still at the top of the game, so much that he had his luggage ready to go on tour in the U.S.. Right now there is a TV series with great ratings in Colombian tv station RCN called "El Joe", based on his life story.

On June 18th, in what would be his last time on stage, he was honored by other great Colombian artists like Fruko y sus Tesos, Checo Acosta, Diomedez Díaz, Wilson Manyoma (famous for his song "El Preso"), Hansel Camacho, Gustavo Rodríguez and Carlos Guerrero, ex singer of el grupo Niche.

Arroyo, a great singer and composer, was not only recognized in his beloved Colombia. On November his career was going to be honored by presenting him with a special Grammy award by the Latin Recording Academy.

As he anticipated in his popular song "...En Barranquilla me quedo..." and so he did. This musical leyend will be greatly missed around the globe and his powerful and unique voice will be heard throughout eternity.

Rest In Peace Gran Joe!

Which is your favorite Joe Arroyo song?

Tags Blogger:Larry Yepez Jr., Colombia, Fruko y sus Tesos, Grammy, Joe Arroyo, Juanes, Salsa

By Michael Lopez

We told you to expect some controversy from the gift Shakira "gave" to Hugo Chávez over the weekend. And one day later, that's exactly what appears to be happening. Reps from Shaki's camp are now denying that the singer directly donated an autographed guitar to the Venezuelan president.

As we've mentioned before, Chávez and leaders from Shaki's home country of Colombia have had a very contentious relationship. Hugo cut ties between the two nations last summer and publicly labeled then-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe a "mafia boss", a "madman" and a "criminal."

Staying stuff like that is probably not the best way to win over the hearts of the Colombian people, many of whom are die-hard Shakira fans. So it makes sense for the She-Wolf to tread very carefully about her generosity towards Chávez.

But the question is, how did he get his hands on the infamous red guitar? It looks like a few new details are starting to emerge. Shaki's PR reps are saying she signed the instrument after a recent Caracas show and was unaware that it would be sent to the Venezuelan president. It is believed that the concert's organizers were responsible for its arrival to Chávez' office.

Nevertheless, Shakira's reps are saying she approves of the gesture and hopes "acts like this [will] contribute to continue uniting the citizens of Colombia and Venezuela."

What do you think about Shaki's gesture? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Chisme, Colombia, Hugo Chavez, Politics, Shakira, Venezuela

By Michael Lopez

We all know that Shakira has a famous generous streak, but the pop star's latest gift has stirred up quite a bit of chisme. It seems that after missing a meeting with Hugo Chávez, Shaki sent the controversial Venezuelan president an autographed red guitar.

Never one to shy away from publicity, Chávez had the country's Information Minister post a picture of the glossy six-string on Twitter this weekend. Hugo, who fashions himself quite the singer, even bragged about using the instrument to play a few songs.

"Es una guitarra moderna ,” Chávez said. “Estuve practicando y cantando algunas canciones viejas."

He went on to say that he took Shaki's gesture a symbol to keep fighting for the peace and unity of his people. But many in her home country of Colombia may not be on the same page.

Last year, Hugo publicly severed ties with Colombia, creating quite a bit of animosity between the two nations. And while we know that Shakira always has the best intentions with everything she does, you've got to wonder if gestures like this may cost her a few hometown fans.

What do you think about Shaki’s gift to Chávez? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Chisme, Colombia, Hugo Chavez, Politics, Shakira, Venezuela

By Michael Lopez

We know Mother’s Day was a week ago, but it looks like former Miss Bogota Carolina Guerra is still very much in the spirit. This week, the Colombian model donned skimpy lingerie for a revealing a photo shoot with her forty-something madre!

Egotastic! published some very sexy pictures of the two and looking at their figures, it's almost hard to tell who's the mom and who's the daughter. The pix were all shot for Colombia's SoHo magazine and have stirred up a bit of controversy among bloggers on the web.

Is there something "creepy" about a mom and daughter posing half-naked for a cameraman? As long as they're sporting at least some clothes, we guess it's ok. But scroll along Egotastic's gallery of Carolina's mom, Jenith Molina, and you'll be in for an even bigger surprise.

Yup, Molina is going topless for a few of the SoHo shots. Posing alone in a tight thong, Jenith is definitely living up to the word "MILF". The question we have now is, what does Papa Guerra have to say about all this?!

Do you think of the naughty mom and daughter pix? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Carolina Guerra, Chisme, Colombia, Hot Stuff, Jenith Molina, MILF, mother's day, Photos, SoHo Magazine

By Michael Lopez

South American newspapers were in a flurry this week as allegations came out that the latest Miss Colombia cheated her way to the top! Of course there’s no actual proof to go along with the story, but it does make for some interesting beauty queen drama.

Similar to the Miss America pageant, contestants competing for Miss Colombia represent various regions throughout the country. This year’s winner, Catalina Robayo from the Valle district, is definitely attractive, but didn't necessarily woo the judges.

She did have one important fan though, Miss Colombia director Raimundo Angulo. Last year’s Valle rep, Diana Salgado, is claiming that he used his power to get her the crown. As she told the country’s El Heraldo newspaper,

“Again it was demonstrated that Miss Colombia was fixed. For the candidates - I talked to several of them - it was very clear that Raimundo had a preference for Catalina. The people do not forget all he has done so she would stay in the race. This paved the way and helped her advance to the others. It's absurd."

Of course, delve a little deeper into the controversy and you’ll see that Salgado has her own personal axe to grind. Back in 2009, she was dismissed from the competition after Miss Colombia reps (perhaps Angulo?) labeled her as “too fat.”

Diana fought back and was eventually reinstated, but not without some hard feelings. So could she be making it all up to get revenge on Raimundo? It’s hard to tell, but as of right now Catalina is definitely keeping the crown.

Who knew that the Colombian entertainment biz had all of this backstabbing, two-timing, chisme drama? No wonder they come up with the best novelas.

Source: [Colombia Reports]

Do you think any American beauty pageants are rigged? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Beauty Pageants, Catalina Robayo, Chisme, Colombia, Diana Salgado, Miss Colombia, Raimundo Angulo

By Michael Lopez

We always love it when music artists slip subliminal messages into their works (except for all that Devil stuff). Backwards lyrics, secret codes…It just makes the experience more interesting. And Juanes seems to be right on board, by naming his new album P.A.R.C.E.

Image : WireImage

At first glance you think, “parce”, which in Juanes’ hometown of Medellin, Colombia, means “dude”. But look closer and you’ll see little periods next to each letter, meaning the title could stand for something else.

What could be behind the message of P.A.R.C.E.? Juanes hasn’t revealed that yet. In fact, he hasn’t revealed a lot of stuff. Seeing how this record is set to hit stores in December and we’re only getting the title NOW is not your usual marketing strategy.

There’s also that question of how he plans to incorporate all of those fan images on the P.A.R.C.E. cover. If you ask us, he’s probably enjoying all of the mystery surrounding the release (it’s definitely helping to build the buzz). It even seemed like the shadows in his latest video were trying to tell us some secrets.

All we can say is, we’re eagerly awaiting the new album and speculating quite a bit about what it could stand for. Maybe Pop And Rock Cure Everything? Just a guess…

P.A.R.C.E. is due to drop on December 7.

Source: [Colombia Reports]

What do you think P.A.R.C.E. stands for? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Colombia, Hot Stuff, Juanes, Música, P.A.R.C.E.

By Michael Lopez

What do you do when your entire world falls apart? Try to pick up the pieces and start again. Poor Jimena and Nacho are still reeling over their separation and now we’re seeing them “try” to get back to their normal lives. The passion, the fun, the romance is all gone now, as “Guardian” and “Madonna” (their online screen names for those paying attention) attempt to move on.

In a nutshell, these two online sweethearts fell in love before they ever even physically met. Then Jimena took to a trip to see Nacho in Cartagena and it was ON! Though they seemed so different for each other (she was older and married, he was a struggling student), something clicked and the love ignited.

Nacho’s lady friend Luisa and Jimena’s hubby Gustavo definitely complicated things and before we knew it, these two were headed straight to Heartbreak City. But…they did get in at least one night of passion, which led to (SPOILER ALERT) an unexpected XXXXXXXXX for Jimena!

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Tags Colombia, episode, Juegos Prohibidos, recaps, telenovelas, Television, Tr3s, video games