ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain (AFP) — Twenty-three years after its launch in Brazil, Rock in Rio moved to Spain as 42,000 people watched acts such as Neil Young and Alanis Morissette in a setting that was more like an amusement park than a traditional rock fest. Bob Dylan, The Police, Shakira and Amy Winehouse are also among the more than 60 acts set to perform over two weekends at a festival the Brazilian organisers hope will eventually become a "global brand" reaching as far as China. At Arganda del Rey, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Madrid, three stages -- the World Stage for headliners, the Hot Stage for lesser known acts and the Electronic Stage -- have been specially built at a 20-hectare (50-acre) site.
On Friday night, people from several generations observed three minutes of silence "for a better world", and the Madrid Youth Orchestra performed John Lennon's "Imagine" to open the festival, which continues on Saturday and on July 4-6. Canadian-born singer-songwriter Morissette was the first on the World Stage, followed by Jack Johnson and Spain's Manola Garcia. The night concluded well after midnight with 62-year-old Canadian rocker Neil Young. In 1969, Young performed with Crosby, Stills and Nash at Woodstock, the New York farming town where the US counterculture and the hippie era of the late 60s was highlighted during three days of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. The differences between that and Rock in Rio could hardly be more striking.
The organisers see Rock in Rio as a family event. "In Brazil, we saw had fathers who had gone to the first festival (in 1985) who later brought their children, and that's when we realised that this is about more than just music," Rock in Rio's vice president Roberta Medina told AFP. "We started to focus on promoting a lot of entertainment." At Arganda del Rey, there are dozens of attractions for all ages, including a 50-metre (150-foot) snowboarding slope with artificial snow, a skateboarding park, a ferris wheel, a catwalk for fashion shows, shops, bars and restaurants and even a daycare centre for children. On Friday, many parents brought their children, although all of about a dozen families interviewed by AFP said they had received free invitations, and had not paid the 65-euro entrance fee.
Deborah, a 37-year-old airline employee from South Africa who lives in Madrid, said she came with her husband and small child after she received free invitations. "It would be almost impossible for us to pay 65 euros," she said. "It seems a lot of money, even without a financial crisis."
The Chingford-based 16-year-old, will become the first Waltham Forest Amateur Boxing Club (ABC) fighter for a number of years to step into an ABA finals ring, when she faces Chloe Fairhead at the Army base in Aldershot.The Sheerness puncher has much more experience than Ley, but Forest secretary Ian Cuddy is confident that his fighter will come up trumps in this junior final.
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He said: "Shakira is a very determined character and has been training very hard for this fight. "So while her opponent has had more fights we believe she is fully prepared. "It is a massive bout for both her and the club, because in my six years here this is the first person we've had in an ABA final. "Having already been invited to train with the London representative training squad, we know that she has the ability to win this final. "I'm sure Shakira is fully aware that if she wins she has a chance to go on and earn her England vest." Ley's male club-mates have been busy in action themselves, with Forest securing a 50 per cent win rate from their six bouts on their home show last weekend at Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow.
The star of the show had to be Tyler Nejet, who took the home fighter of the night award after beating Golden Gloves winner Billy Cooper of the Nemesis Boxing Club. The Forest fighter using good foot work and combination punches just edged a tight, but thrilling contest. Also securing wins on the night were Sam Gilley, who saw off the highly rated Michael McDonagh (Tottenham & Enfield ABC) and Glenn Leigh, who beat a very game Andrew Harper (Trojan ABC). Other home fighters in action on the same show were Michael Keenan, Bradley Anderson and Chris Farbridge, who were all unlucky in their bouts.
Reflecting on those results, Cuddy said: "It was nice to have so many winners on our own show and I thought Tyler in particular boxed brilliantly. "The lads that lost also put up some very good performances and Michael was very unlucky to see the decision go against him in his fight." Also in action on Friday night was Danny Hart, who making his first appearance in a year, put on a sensational performance to beat home fighter Tommy Smith on Cray Valley's charity show.Smith, a tricky southpaw, who had won nine fights from 12 bouts including four by knockout was simply blown away by a determined Hart and the home corner threw in the towel in round two.
La cantante latinoamericana Shakira ha acconsentito alla messa in onda in anteprima del videoclip del suo ultimo singolo, Hips Don’t Lie, sui telefoni cellulari “musicphone” compatibili con le reti wireless V CAST dell’operatore di telefonia mobile statunitense Verizon Communications.
Oltre al videoclip completo della canzone i clienti del servizio V CAST possono visualizzare anche spezzoni del dietro le quinte delle riprese video e fruire di altri contenuti quali suonerie e altri contenuti specifici per il telefono cellulare. Il videoclip, al quale partecipa anche Wyclef Jean dei Fugees, sarà in futuro messo in onda in televisione e su altri canali di distribuzione.
Donnie Bunting carves up his succulent roast lamb reared at his Longville Park farm at Christopher and Neadene Tufton's birthday party, Hopefield Avenue, Liguanea, St Andrew, last Friday. - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer Six weeks ago my touring partners and I flew across to Tobago for the Plymouth Jazz Festival. I'd been to Trinidad's twin island before, and knew exactly where I intended to get the local fodder.
Which brings me to a word of advice on planning a holiday at this time of the year at this particular place: If you'd like to go to next year's event, then call your travel agent now. Reserve your flights and accommodation, and worry about buying concert tickets later. The one thing you don't need to book is a rental car. Every man and his brother turn into a taxi driver during this three-day weekend at the end of April. And if you dare ask where you can hire a vehicle to drive yourself, then don't be surprised when someone hands you the key to his jeep, tells you it's US$50 a day and he'll be back on Monday to collect it. Again, there's nothing sinister about it and you're in no danger. There's an opportunity for the locals to make money by providing you with a service, and that's all there is to it.
The journey
Now we were able to drive to Store Bay on the west point of the island for curried crab and dumplings from Miss Jean! I had been thinking about this dish since my last visit five years ago, so there was no way I was leaving a scrap of 'meat' behind. It is a typical meal in Tobago, and Trinidadians living in Kingston, New York and London have all told me about 'Miss Jean's'. Our evenings were tied up with the singers: Smokey Robinson, Steel Pulse, En Vogue, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, and the barefooted belly-dancingShakira . The performances were fantastic, with the exception of Whitney's, who managed to be so bad it was worth watching the disaster that ensued on stage.
By the end of each night we were all starving. Due to the early start of the shows: five, six and seven, respectively, and the strict timeliness of the stars, there was not a moment to move from our seats to eat in between acts. Many food vendors were selling corn soup, 'doubles', shark and bake, and rotis, and we were all over them before the clock struck 12. And then the process would recommence the next day with the same: bare music, bare food, and somewhere in the world a barefooted Shakira!
ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain (AFP) — Twenty-three years after its launch in Brazil, Rock in Rio moved to Spain as 42,000 people watched acts such as Neil Young and Alanis Morissette in a setting that was more like an amusement park than a traditional rock fest. Bob Dylan, The Police, Shakira and Amy Winehouse are also among the more than 60 acts set to perform over two weekends at a festival the Brazilian organisers hope will eventually become a "global brand" reaching as far as China. At Arganda del Rey, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Madrid, three stages -- the World Stage for headliners, the Hot Stage for lesser known acts and the Electronic Stage -- have been specially built at a 20-hectare (50-acre) site.
