Latest news with #PuertoRican
News18
18 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Bad Bunny Asks Fans To Lower Their Expectation For His Tour: ‘I'm Not Taylor Swift'
Last Updated: Unlike Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, Bad Bunny will not pay tribute to all of his albums in his upcoming tour. Bad Bunny is gearing up to kick off his much-awaited world tour in November this year. Following the release of his sixth album, Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, the Puerto Rican singer is going on an all-stadium world tour. Before welcoming his fans, the singer compared himself with Taylor Swift and asked fans to keep their expectations low. During an interview with Variety, Bad Bunny referred to the Eras Tour and stated that unlike Taylor Swift, he would not be able to pay tribute to all of his albums. He further revealed that his tour would not be as organised as the Grammy-winning singers. 'First of all, I'm not Taylor Swift," the singer stated, asking his fans to not expect a tour like Taylor's Eras Tour. 'It's not going to be organised that way. It's very much a tour for Debi, with some older songs sprinkled in." The 31-year-old singer further clarified that there would be no concert films like the Eras Tour Movie, but they would shoot the concert solely for the memories, as the singer's main aim is to create memories and share emotions with the fans. Bad Bunny's highly anticipated world tour is on its way to breaking records as he sold tickets worth 2.6 million USD across shows in Latin America, Europe and Australia. His upcoming world tour is set to kick off on November 21 in the Dominican Republic, and after that he will make stops in Costa Rica and Mexico in December before resuming in January in Latin American countries. By the end of February, the singer is expected to conclude his shows in Brazil and Australia for the first time ever and make his concert debut in Japan by the end of March. Between May and July, the singer is expected to tour Europe, making stops in Portugal, Spain, Germany, France and other countries. Before embarking on his extensive world tour, Bad Bunny is set to perform a 30-date residency in Puerto Rico. The performance at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot is expected to draw an estimated 250,000 fans to the island. First Published:
The Hindu
an hour ago
- Business
- The Hindu
25 years of Spirit of India and a new immersive new store in Delhi
Lladró's 25th anniversary in India coincides with the opening of their ninth boutique in the new space is at New Delhi's The Chanakya, known to house other luxury brands such as Hermès, Tiffany & Co. and Ravissant. And as with other Lladró addresses around the world, this too is a phantasmagorical world of porcelain, where innovation and imagination have catapulted a 12th century material to brave new heights. Meet the icons At this Mediterranean-style 600 sq. ft. boutique designed by Puerto Rican architect Héctor Ruiz-Velázquez, meet Haute École, a glistening white purebred horse with sinewy muscles rearing forth under an exquisite Seasons chandelier with dozens of blue and white elements in porcelain and crystal. On a wall display are multiple versions of The Guest — a whimsical character by Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon — now a beloved icon of modern porcelain. While entry-level fragrance candles start at ₹6,000, a Lladró handcrafted object can cost crores of rupees. Ever since three brothers in the Spanish village of Almàssera began their uncharted journey in 1953 to reimagine handcrafted porcelain, Lladró has captivated audiences worldwide. Creative director Nieves Contreras says, 'The creation of a Lladró piece is a highly artisanal and time-intensive process. Anywhere from five to over 100 moulds may be required depending on the complexity of the piece.' While single-firing has replaced triple, and their palette is expansive with 4,000 shades, the real 'porcelain revolution' has been about forging new paths to stay relevant, says Rushil Kapoor, marketing and PR manager at Lladró India. The magic of India Lladró's organised entry into India as a joint venture, Spa Lifestyle Pvt Ltd., paved the way for good fortunes. India is Lladró's third largest market. In its 70th year, its second-largest store globally was launched on MG Road in New Delhi. 2025 is also the 25th anniversary of the Spirit of India, fashioned after Hindu traditions. Ana Rodríguez Nogueiras, global CEO of Lladró, says, 'Each creation aims to become a meaningful link between Spanish artistry and India's rich cultural and spiritual traditions.' The fan following for their intricate figurines — Ram, Sita, Hanuman, the Mudras, Sai Baba and Goddess Lakshmi — is spread across the Indian diaspora in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. In India, Lladró loyalty goes back many generations. Take entrepreneur and art collector Pinky Reddy for instance, an avowed patron who bought a Lord Balaji figurine and had been to the Valencia factory when she was just 13. With the genial Lord Ganesha in many poses equally popular amongst westerners, Lladró's Indian footprint is firmly established. 'Revenue from India contributes to 13% of Lladró's global revenue, of which 38% comes from Spirit of India,' says Nikhil Lamba, CEO Lladró India. An eye on sustainability Sustainability requires not just innovative adaptation for the times, but also future foresight, along with a deep concern for the planet's ecosystems. Lladró embodies all three. The three elements of porcelain have remained constant — kaolinite, quartz and feldspar — and so has Lladró's ideal: to make collectables of lasting emotive significance. While classics are still a staple, designer-led aesthetics have captured the market. Lamba says, 'Earlier, patrons bought classic glazed sculptures with florals and subtle colours. Now, they prefer contemporary and playful designs in bold, striking colours.' Contreras, who has purposefully steered global trends, says, 'Achieving perfection in porcelain is always a demanding task, no matter the size or type of piece. One of the main challenges is its unpredictability — it behaves almost like a living material.' Lladró's creative collaborations such as Ephemeral Treasures, with renowned Valencian artist Dulk's portrayal of fantastical animals, raises awareness about the beauty of nature, acting as a reminder of the planet's fragility. Let there be light In 2013, Lladró expanded into lighting. The Chanakya boutique is showcasing a wide range, including chandeliers, table and floor lamps, pendants, and wireless lamps. You can find the classic Ivy & Seed chandelier in white, as well as the 2022 NYC x Design Awards winner in the chandelier category — the Seasons Chandelier (Winter) in cool blue hues. The portable wireless Firefly Lamp is the proven star of the show, lending its glow to tablescapes, verandas, desk tops, and gifting. Contreras says, 'You can now customise your lamp at the Firefly Bar in the new boutique, putting together elements of your choice and colour.' And you can take it home in a month, after it's made in the City of Porcelain in Tavernes Blanques, Lladró's only production factory in the world. The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
"I'm not Taylor Swift": Bad Bunny urges audience to lower expectations about his tour; reveals there won't be a concert film
is all ready to perform in his upcoming global tour, with a mic, a pair of dancing shoes, and a voice that makes everyone groove. While the anticipation is high, the 31-year-old rapper has urged his fans not to expect the theatrical excellence such as the billionaire singer, . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Bad Bunny is not Taylor Swift In an interview with Variety, the Puerto Rican star, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, stated, 'First of all, I'm not Taylor Swift,' suggesting that he would focus on the songs from the recently released sixth studio album 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,' while also adding a couple of blasts from the past. 'I want to clarify now so that they don't get so excited: It's not going to be organised that way. It's still very much a tour for DeBÍ, with some older songs sprinkled in,' Bad Bunny added. No United States, No Concert Film Furthermore, the rapper revealed that it is 'unnecessary' to tour in the United States. When asked about why Bunny did not schedule dates in America, he responded by stating that they have had a lot of opportunities to be at his concert many times over the past six years. However, there would be no concert film as well. While they would shoot the concerts, it would solely be for the memories. His manager, Assad, said, 'We've had conversations about doing a film for the residency, and we are having our conversations about doing it for the world tour, but there's no pressure on us. He wants to create memories and share emotions with the individuals willing to listen.' Bad Bunny's tour According to the reports, Bad Bunny will start performing from November 21, 2025, and will cover many countries, including Costa Rica and Mexico in December, Colombia in January, and other Latin American countries. Furthermore, he would tour in Brazil and Australia for the first time in February and Japan in March. From May to July, he will be visiting European countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, and more.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Wynwood pushed artists out. A neighborhood arts complex wants to build them a home
Nearly 40 years ago, the fading working-class neighborhood of Wynwood landed its first cadre of artists when a group fleeing rising rents in Coconut Grove moved their studios into a ramshackle Art Deco-era former commercial bread factory in the shadow of Interstate 95. Now, as the artists and galleries who helped turn Wynwood into Miami's hippest urban district all but disappear under a tsunami of redevelopment, the Bakehouse Art Complex remains a funky, thriving oasis of creativity. But the people who run it want to do much more. They have just unveiled an ambitious plan, years in the making, that would provide artists a permanent residential foothold in Wynwood — by building some 60 affordable apartments on the Bakehouse campus — as the nonprofit organization embarks on a long-range campaign to fully revamp and expand its studios and workshops and cement its influence in the neighborhood for decades to come. There's a long way to go: The Bakehouse must now build support in political circles and the broader arts community, raise millions of dollars, sign on an affordable-housing developer to partner on the project, and, potentially, enlist Miami-Dade County's housing agency in a side plan to provide even more housing for the surrounding community. But supporters say they believe the unusually far-reaching plan, developed with substantial community input, would allow the Bakehouse to extend its already deep ties to the surrounding neighborhood, where it's long served as an economic and cultural fulcrum, as it expands its longtime role as a pivotal hub for the visual arts and a launch pad for young Miami artists. 'We're going to have more for artists, and more for the community,' said Bakehouse executive director Cathy Leff. 'It's not just about Bakehouse. It's a real grassroots effort. It's about a community and Bakehouse serving the community.' 'We all had this epiphany' The novel housing idea hit Bakehouse administrators as they began planning necessary repairs and renovations to the former industrial building, which turns 100 in 2026. They realized the center's artists were spending less time in their studios because most teach school or have day jobs, sometimes more than one, and commute to far-flung neighborhoods where they can afford to live amid Miami's skyrocketing housing costs. 'We were seeing that the artists weren't here during the day,' Leff said. 'We all had this epiphany — that we had the studios and this big piece of land, and we could do something with it.' That germ of an idea led first to the creation of a new zoning plan to stimulate low-scale construction and preservation and renovation of housing in the neighborhood, the mostly residential and still largely un-gentrified section of Wynwood that lies north of Northwest 29th Street and was once the locus of Miami's Puerto Rican community. Bakehouse representative went door-to-door in the neighborhood to seek input on the plan, which received strong and enthusiastic support from residents and property owners. Called the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Conservation District and approved by the Miami commission in 2021, it also allows Bakehouse, zoned for civic uses, to add apartments and artistic businesses. Then, thanks to grants from the Miami-based Knight Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Bakehouse leaders spent the next four years drilling down on the new campus concept with Los Angeles architect and planner Michael Maltzan, well-known for his inventive approach to museum and cultural projects as well as residential buildings. The result is an elaborate plan that would add eight stories of apartments for artists behind the Bakehouse's original 1926 industrial building, which would be fully renovated inside and out. A new wing would incorporate new studios, workshops and a suite of spaces for artists' creative businesses. The new wing and a soaring breezeway would frame a new public green space for Bakehouse and neighborhood use at the center of the roughly 2.5-acre property. Because Leff, former director of the Wolfsonian-FIU museum in Miami Beach, and her team and board members don't stint on ambition, the plan also sketches out a suggested redevelopment scheme for an aging, low-density Miami-Dade County subsidized housing project that occupies most of the rest of the block. The Maltzan design would replace it with a denser mid-rise building with 226 mixed-income apartments, a food market that the neighborhood now lacks, and an art education center for the community where Bakehouse artists could provide lessons and workshops. The county, which has aggressively sought redevelopment of its aging and obsolete housing projects, did not request the proposal from Bakehouse. But Leff said it came out of conversations with residents and reflects their priorities and needs, and she hopes the county will take up the idea. Leff casts the effort as a revitalization endeavor aimed at mitigating the worst effects of gentrification as it marches gradually north from the rapidly changing Wynwood arts district. An 'anchor' for the neighborhood So does Wilfred 'Will' Vasquez, a Bakehouse supporter who grew up two blocks away and now owns several residential properties in the neighborhood. As a child, Vasquez, whose parents settled in Wynwood after emigrating from Central America in the 1960s, would ride his bike the two blocks to the bakery, then the headquarters of the American Bakeries Company, where he would pick up fresh loaves in exchange for a thermos of coffee brewed from beans roasted at a neighborhood plant. He nostalgically recalls the aromas of roasting coffee and baking bread mixing in the air as he pedaled. As an adult, once Leff took the director's position at the Bakehouse and needed help with upkeep at the deteriorating building, Vasquez would volunteer his crews to make repairs free of charge. And when the center and a group of locals began planning the conservation district, Vasquez joined the nascent Wynwood Community Enhancement Association and became a leading supporter of the new zoning and the Bakehouse plan. That's how important the center has been to the neighborhood's history and, now, to what supporters hope will be its resurgence, he said. The Maltzan plan accommodates historic preservation, the center's artistic and institutional ambitions, and the neighborhood's future, he said. 'It's a beautiful plan,' Vasquez said. 'This is something that is needed. I am happy they're keeping the original portions of the building, and the affordable housing for the artists — it's all win-win. I hope the county does come in. If you ask me, what's there now is wasted space. Those residents don't have to be permanently displaced, and they would come back to a much better situation.' The plan, he says, dovetails with the changes already underway in Wynwood Norte, which after World War II served as the residential neighborhood for the garment and factory workers, mainly from Puerto Rico, who worked in the Wynwood industrial district to the south. As the industry faded in the 1960s and 1970s and the Puerto Rican residents were gradually replaced by Cubans and Central Americans, its identify as Little San Juan faded. Today, Vasquez said, the neighborhood is a mix of elderly residents and young people from all over the hemisphere who are drawn by its relatively affordable older housing and Wynwood's hip international reputation. At the same time, Wynwood Norte is seeing some of the fruits of the rezoning in the form of several low-scale, neighborhood-friendly workforce apartment buildings that are now under construction, said Miami attorney Steven Wernick, who helped steer that plan to approval. 'I think the Bakehouse has been an anchor for the neighborhood, and it can now become an even more integral part of the neighborhood and continue pulling people together,' Wernick, a partner at the Day Pitney firm, said. 'It's that kind of institution that's key to its present and will be central to what's to come in the future.' Bakehouse revival The Bakehouse has served as an artistic incubator since it opened in 1986, long before Miami had an arts public high school and college, or a real museum, or an Art Basel Miami Beach. The bakery, which had employed 300 people and made the popular Merita bread, closed in 1978 after its parent company was sold. (Merita is now produced by Flowers Foods). The city helped a group of artists fleeing the Grove and its rising rents negotiate its purchase for $10 as a tax write-off for the company, Leff said. The inside of the factory was partitioned into a warren of about 60 studios — the walls don't reach the ceilings — and over time wood and metal workshops were installed in un-air-conditioned ancillary buildings on the property. Thousands of Miami artists, including some of its most successful, have at some point had studio or shop space at the Bakehouse. By the 2010s, however, it was struggling. Artists had discovered plenty of cheap industrial space for use as studios and even living space, in Wynwood. Half the studios at the Bakehouse were vacant, few artists were paying any rent, and the building was declared structurally deficient by the city. Now that's all drastically changed. Artists were shoved out as the Wynwood arts district redevelopment drove prices up and knocked down the warehouses and industrial buildings they used. Since Leff arrived in 2017, she has helped spearhead a Bakehouse revival. The building has undergone extensive repairs, has a new electrical system, a revamped roof and is close to obtaining recertification from the city. Studios are full and, as the city's arts scene has exploded, so has demand, to the point where many artists are now doubling up. Rent amounts depend on what artists can pay — some pay nothing — and grants and contributions help cover costs. 'It was obvious there was so much talent in the town and not enough spaces for them to work,' Leff said. Just as importantly, Leff said, Bakehouse also provides its artists with a supportive community of peers. They employ one another as studio assistants for artistic projects, serve as mutual sounding boards and critics and develop long-lasting friendships. 'The mission is to get people in here and get them to evolve and then get them launched so they can come out with a sustainable artistic career,' said Philip Lique, an artist and sculptor with a studio at the Bakehouse who serves on staff as technology strategist and planner. The center increasingly turned its attention to the long-neglected community around it when the COVID-19 pandemic hit as it was launching the planning effort. Its artists already provided art classes to students at Jose de Diego Middle School directly across the street, but now staff and artists began delivering baked goods from Wynwood's Zak the Baker — a reminder of the center's historical origin — to the homes where neighbors were in lockdown. When Leff and her staff realized the neighborhood has poor WiFi signals from commercial providers, they bolstered the center's network and made it available to them. They have also hired locals for staff positions, including the beloved property manager, Oscar Cortes, and a husband-and-wife gardening team, Julio Rodriguez and Emma Sierra. Sierra, who grew up in the neighborhood, and her husband are so dedicated to the Bakehouse that they constructed a landscape sculpture from layers of soil of different colors that a center artist drew up for an exhibit at Little River gallery. Supporters acknowledge the Bakehouse plans, the product of years of hard work, may seem forbiddingly imposing, especially in Miami, where many a high-minded scheme has come to naught. But Vaszquez, who is 69 and jokes he hopes to live long enough to seem them come to fruition, said he is keeping faith. 'It hasn't been easy,' he said. 'But it will happen.'
Hypebeast
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
Bad Bunny Reveals Reason Why He Refuses To Tour in the US
Summary Global music phenomenonBad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has ignited widespread discussion with his recent blunt declaration regarding his upcomingDeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToSWorld Tour: touring the continental United States is 'unnecessary.' This forthright statement, made in a recent interview withVariety, underscores the Puerto Rican superstar's unique approach to his career and his deep connection to his homeland. The decision comes as Bad Bunny prepares for an extensive 30-night 'No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí' residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, beginning on July 11. This residency, whose title translates to 'I Don't Want to Leave Here,' is a deeply personal project for the artist, reflecting his profound emotional ties to his island. He confessed that completing his last tour was challenging because his focus was already on this deeply desired Puerto Rican chapter. While fans in the U.S. might be disappointed, Bad Bunny was quick to point out that they have had 'no shortage of opportunities to see him perform' over the past six years, citing his massive 45-date 'Most Wanted Tour' in the U.S. in 2024. His em>DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS World Tour, set to kick off in November, will instead focus on stadium dates across South America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, intentionally bypassing the U.S. mainland. The artist's candidness extends to the idea of a concert film for U.S. audiences. When asked if such a film was in the works, Bad Bunny reportedly stated it was 'unnecessary' as well. His label CEO, Noah Assad, elaborated, mentioning that while most shows are recorded, there's a deliberate choice not to publish permanent concert footage, favoring live, in-the-moment experiences for attendees. However, Assad did not entirely rule out the possibility of a residency or world tour film in the future, noting 'there's no pressure on us.' Bad Bunny's decision, while seemingly unusual for an artist of his global stature, is being interpreted by many as a powerful statement—not just about tour logistics, but potentially about his album's themes of Puerto Rican pride and anti-colonialism, and perhaps even the current political climate surrounding Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. Regardless of the underlying motivations, it's a clear signal that Bad Bunny remains committed to doing things his way, prioritizing his artistic vision and his roots.
