The movie is El Cantante, a dramatic biography of Puerto Rican salsa pioneer
Hector Lavoe. Based on the true story of the King of Salsa, Hector Lavoe.
It's the life story of Hector Lavoe who started the salsa movement in 1975
and brought it to the United States, which earned him the name "King of
Salsa".
The film follows Lavoe's (Anthony) passionate relationship with Puchi
(Lopez) and his skyrocket to international fame. In the mix are a lot of
drugs and angst.
The surge in demand has been attributed to fashion icons such as Victoria
Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera, who have teetered around in
them in recent weeks at a number of red carpet events.
Here, our writer road-tests a pair of the shoes that women on both sides of
the Atlantic seem willing to walk barefoot over broken glass to get - which,
as she discovers, is a maneuver only marginally more perilous than actually
wearing them. There's the heels of Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez,
Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani, risking vertigo and personal injury for
the sake of high fashion. The Yves Saint Laurent "Tribute" Mary Janes are
this season's must-have shoes. In London, they are sold out and there is a
waiting list of 200.
On eBay, the last resort for a desperate shoeaholic, they are selling
for $1,295. The shoes come in three colors: black (with a cream-colored
heel), red or purple, and two heel heights; four inches or five-and-a-half.
At the front they have a one-and-a-half inch platform and a thin ankle
strap.
When they were unveiled on the catwalk for this season's collections,
designer Stefano Pilati said he was inspired by "violets - which to the
Greeks symbolized modesty, humility and virginity - and the feeling of
transition from spring into summer".
Now, Pilati may have sent out his models covered with soil and real violets
but these shoes are definitely not recommended for such terrain. The
Tributes are what a New Yorker would call "cab shoes" - wearable only if
there is a taxi waiting right outside to whisk you straight to dinner. If
you're travelling along a few blocks of smooth concrete, they're
surprisingly wearable. But any cobbles, steps or cracked paving stones and
you could easily lose your balance and plummet towards the earth. Still,
they are this season's must-have shoes.
Belfast-based lawyer Paul Tweed, who specializes in fighting U.S. libel
cases in European courts, said he had filed a lawsuit with the Belfast High
Court on Tuesday and a writ of summons would arrive at the magazine's New
York headquarters shortly.
"We will now make similar applications in Dublin, London and other
jurisdictions," he told Reuters.
Lopez and Anthony were seeking "substantial damages", a full retraction and
an apology over an Enquirer article last month that alleged the couple were
linked to a drug scandal after Anthony was pictured with a photographer
later charged with heroin possession.
The story was "totally unfounded", said Tweed, who last year won an apology
from the Enquirer for singer Britney Spears over an article claiming she was
about to divorce her husband.
Richard Valvo, a spokesman for the National Enquirer, said the company had
no comment to make on Tuesday.
Tweed said U.S.-based celebrities were increasingly pursuing libel claims in
European courts.
"It's virtually impossible to sue for libel in the United States because of
First Amendment protections," he said.
"But these publications are now appearing in Ireland, the UK and France, and
on the Internet, and they're now subject to the libel laws of these
jurisdictions."
He pointed out that the option only really applied to internationally known
stars who could prove they had a reputation to protect.
In most cases defendants opted to settle out of court rather than risk
paying damages in numerous jurisdictions, he said, adding that if the
Enquirer chose to fight, the case was likely to take between 9 and 15
months.
Tweed, a libel lawyer for 30 years, has previously taken cases for Irish
actor Liam Neeson, singer Whitney Houston and U.S. film producer Steve Bing.
Lopez, who has successfully combined musical and screen careers, married New
York-born singer Anthony -- the biggest-selling salsa artist of all time --
in 2004.
Source: Reuters
Posts
All Comments
