album. Presented by Entertainment Asylum ~ June 5, 1999
Ricky Martin: Thank you very much. In fact, I think this is the first live
chat ever in my life. So this is great, you guys are my godparents!
Online Host: What is it like overnight to have millions of Americans discover
you?
Ricky Martin: It was very special to have the opportunity to present my music
to the American audience. I had the opportunity to act in America in General
Hospital and I did Broadway in Les Miserables a couple years ago and it's
been a fascinating journey ever since. I started working with the crossover
and the album that I presented at the Grammys did very well and sold over two
million albums. Then we went to Asia finishing the tour with 25 concerts in
Asia, all in Spanish! And then after the Grammys I recorded the album. And
I've recorded in Portuguese, Italian, and I thought, why not English? We have
to do it.
Question: Ricky, how did you get started in your career? From Rachel &
Jessie.
Ricky Martin: Hello, Rachel and Jessie. My career started in 1984, full-time.
When I was 7 years old, I did TV commercials. But in 1984 I started in a
musical band and was very successful all over the world. The band was called
Menudo. I guess I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to be a part of
Menudo. First of all, it was the first "boy band" that ever existed. And it
gave me the chance to learn the discipline needed. And that word has become
very important in my life.
Question: What's the next song you will be releasing off your album?
Ricky Martin: The new album is called "Ricky Martin" and the first single was
"Livin' La Vida Loca." And the second single will be "She's All I Ever Had,"
a beautiful ballad written by Jon Secada and others. It's an album that was
recently released and it's really a baby and we have two more years to go
with that album. But it was a great experience to work with a living legend
and someone who did a lot for music and society, Madonna. She's amazing.
She's brilliant.
Question: Do you believe in love at first sight?
Ricky Martin: Oh, yes! I do believe in love at first sight. It's beautiful
when you connect with the eyes...boom! Yes, I have had love at first sight.
It's beautiful, but later on you have to start looking from the inside. The
spiritual aspect for me in a person is so important. I go after a person who
is balanced and serene and in control of her feelings and actions. That's
what really turns me on, someone who really knows what she wants in life and
is not compulsive or obsessive. Thank you for your question!
Question: Hey Ricky baby! I just wanted to know, what was the most
embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you while singing? Thanks!
You're the cutest!
Ricky Martin: The most embarrassing moment was to be on stage, I fell off!
Well, I fell down, not off. I stepped on a rose that someone in the audience
had thrown to the stage and I slipped and boom! And the good thing was that
nobody noticed because I kept dancing on the floor as if it was part of the
act.
Question: My only question is: who is the person you vent with when you are
feeling depressed?
Ricky Martin: I'm very lucky, I have a very nice group of friends. People who
have known me for many� years and who have been part of my life for 15 years
at least. And they know me very well and they give me a beautiful sense of
reality. I guess, you know, dealing with all the adrenaline and euphoria in
the music business, my priority is to keep my feet on the ground, and not to
be depressed and that helps a lot. So I go to them and it feels good because
you don't feel judged and I feel very human when I talk to my friends and my
family. And, let's be honest, my higher power. I talk to HIM and it feels
better. I'm a very spiritual person.
Question: Ricky, would you ever like to do a movie? And if so, who would you
like to do it with?
Ricky Martin: You know, right now, my priority is music. But, yes, I see
myself on the big screen. Eventually, not now, because I have to defend the
music and my album. But I would love to work with people like Harvey Keitel
and Al Pacino...someone who will never die...today they are a legend...And
being a legend is being able to teach AND learn and I feel I will some day.
Question: I want to see Ricky shake his Bon-Bon. When is shake your Bon-Bon's
Music video coming out?
Ricky Martin: LOL. That's one of the songs on my latest album. Believe it or
not it's a very spiritual song as well. I talk about when I went to the
Himalayas and to India. It was really amazing. (He gets up and shakes his
behind). There! You have to pay for the rest. LOL
Question: Ricky, why would you spend 2000 in Tibet....Tell me the secret.
Ricky Martin: The planet is going to be so crazy all over the world. Los
Angeles, big feast, New York, big feast, Paris, Rome, everywhere will be a
major party going on and it's the only time I have off. I could say it's my
vacation and I need serenity and Tibet is a very spiritual place. I've never
been there and I would like to go. And to be sitting in the middle of the
Himalayas in a tent with no TV or loud noises. I need to be somewhere that is
not commercialized at all. And I think this will be a good place. So, those
are my plans, but anything can change tomorrow.
Question: Who are the girls with you in your video, Livin' La Vida Loca?
Ricky Martin: These are amazing dancers. They are from Los Angeles, most of
them. One of them, with the tight skirt, she is from Croatia. Her name is
Milia. She's an amazing woman. Very strong personality. And that's what I was
looking for, someone who could drive us all crazy. And they all have their
own personality, very different from one another and at the same time I felt
very comfortable with all of them. And I wanted energy and they gave it all.
Question: If you could take only 3 things to an island what would you take?
Ricky Martin: I would take music. I would take a hammock. And I would take
incense. Food, I can get out of palm trees and plants. Water, well, it's
there. It doesn't matter if it's salt water, I'll drink it. It's not a
problem. That's all I need. I guess so. I don't know. Sometimes simple
questions are so hard to answer. So that's what came to my mind now.
Question: Do you consider yourself a sex symbol?
Ricky Martin: LOL. You know that I had a problem with that for a long time
because for some reason there are so many stereotypes of a sex symbol. And
one day I was talking to Gloria Estefan and she told me, you know what buddy,
you are Latin and in the Latin culture when you meet someone you
automatically kiss, and what is that? That is sexual, and so you are a sex
symbol and you shouldn't fight it, you should enjoy it. And she started
talking about other sex symbols and Elvis and The Beatles. They were sex
symbols and today they are legends. So I went with what Gloria told me. You
can think what you want, but I'm enjoying it while I can.
Question: When you tour in other countries, how is it possible to translate
one song's language into another, and the words still make sense? Isn't it
hard considering the languages are so different?
Ricky Martin: Traveling around the world and presenting my music in Spanish
mainly, the conclusion is that language is not a problem. People are looking
for emotion and rhythm and sounds, and I've surrounded myself with great
producers. I make the song mine before I record it in other languages so it's
not a difficult job to do. Once again, it's all about feelings and emotions
and not wearing a mask when you go on stage so that people understand it when
you go on stage. When you leave your soul on stage, that's what matters.
Question: Ricky, where are you right now at this moment?
Ricky Martin: I'm in Los Angeles today. Tomorrow I'm going to Miami and then
I'm going to Chicago and then to Europe and then to Asia for 15 days. It will
be crazy. I'll be back to America for concerts. September, October and
November I'll be in America. I'll be in Latin America the whole year. Since I
live in Miami it's very easy fro me to jump to Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil,
and those places.
Question: Hey Ricky, do you chat on the net a lot and visit websites
dedicated to you?
Ricky Martin: Yeah. There are a lot of websites and I have to thank everybody
who takes their time to follow my schedule and to talk about me. It's
beautiful support. Thank you very much. At this moment in my life I only have
time once every other week or so to turn on my computer, check my messages
and reply. It's crazy. I'm working so much I don't have time to go on the
computer.
Question: What are the things that you love and the things that you hate
about being so famous?
Ricky Martin: I think it's important to add and not subtract. You have to
stick to the positive things in life. I love the opportunity to visit places
and meet people and exchange ideas with different cultures. You learn a lot.
At the end of the day, when you aren't on this planet or in this body,
knowledge is the only thing you'll take with you. The only thing I don't like
is that, for me, my intimacy is so important and the paparazzi is there
taking pictures when I'm in my back yard playing with my dog. I don't have a
problem with that, but it's my family. I have a family and I'm the one in the
music business, but you see people climbing the fence of my mother's house
taking pictures. It could be a little uncomfortable, but music will erase all
that. Music is my medicine. Music and being on stage is addictive. Whatever
you have to go through to be able to do music and affect people in a positive
way it's all good.
Ricky Martin: Yo quiero un taco.
Question: What kind of dog do you have?
Ricky Martin: I have a golden retriever and a Chihuahua. The golden retriever
is Icaro and the Chihuahua is Titan. They're a good couple! LOL.
Question: What are some things you like to do in your spare time?
Ricky Martin:� I try to go back home and spend time with my family. Spend
time with my friends and silence. Silence is very important to me. I meditate
and take those 40 minutes a day to be in touch with me. And I read a book and
I listen to music. Very simple. I wash my car. Play with my dogs. When I'm
not following a schedule, I make sure my life is very simple.
Question: Is meditation helping you in this media frenzy these days?
Ricky Martin: Yeah, meditation is definitely something that helps a lot.
Everybody should try it. It's really good. It's like being on a cloud. It's
real. You don't have to go into artificial stuff to go into a cloud. It's all
about getting to know yourself better and being in touch with yourself and
your mind and about breathing and it's something I never want to stop doing.
Question: Hey Ricky! Would you ever consider doing a duet with Jennifer
Lopez? My friends and I think that would sound awesome! YOU ARE SO HOT! Much
Love.
Ricky Martin: Yes, collaborating for me is very important. It's exchanging
ideas and music sounds and influences. And I like Jennifer Lopez a lot and
she's an amazing girl. But I would like to act with her maybe.
Online Host: Jennifer Lopez will be chatting with us Wednesday, June 9th.
Ricky Martin: Send her my love and tell her she's doing amazing and I'm proud
of her. A Puerto Rican girl!
Question: What about the rumors of you being on ER next year?
Ricky Martin:� Well, I just found out! I had no idea! But it's not bad at
all. I don't think it will be bad, but, once again, next year I'll be touring
and presenting my concert here in the states and Europe. Believe it or not,
I'm a frustrated doctor so that would be a great place to let my frustration
go. I love medicine. Usually people go into hospitals and get upset, but I
don't. I feel like a fish in a tank and want to ask questions about
everything. If I have fifteen years to become a doctor I'll go into medical
school, but definitely not now. I want to do so many things in life, I want
to be a doctor and a film director and a music producer. I need 27 lives to
be really fulfilled. LOL
Question: What is it like to be on the cover of some of the most popular
magazines, such as Time?
Ricky Martin: Very important. It means a lot to me. It gives me a lot of
responsibility, which I love. The magazines are helping to break stereotypes
all over the world. They're letting people know about Latin sounds and Latin
influences and the differences between sounds not only when it comes to
sound, but geographically speaking, the sounds of Venezuela, Argentina and
Mexico and that's important. All the people from Argentina to Mexico you talk
about Mariachi, but that's not all. There is so much more in each of the
countries of Latin America. I like educating, but I also like learning. For
me life is a school. Yes, I've been 15 years doing this, but there is a whole
lot more to it.
Question: Hi Ricky, how are you my love? I am fine, but something is missing,
your heart! Do you have girlfriend? I am going to visit your island in June.
Ricky Martin: I don't have a girlfriend at the moment.
Question: I can't wait to see you on tour. When are you touring the US?
Ricky Martin: In September, October and November I'll be doing concerts in
the United States. It will be a big tour. I'm going everywhere. The Mid-West,
East Coast, Southwest, everywhere.
OnlineHost: Thank you for joining us today.
Ricky Martin: Thank you. I appreciate it. You're the best. Take care.
Portions of this transcript may be edited by AOL to correct spelling,
punctuation and/or remove any material that violates AOL's Terms of Service.
Online Host: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
