Sexy. Young. Talented.

PAULINA RUBIO
She’s sold 20 million albums in her native Mexico, where she’s as famous as anyone can be. But that’s not enough — now she wants to take America

No sooner has the airplane landed than the limousine has whisked her away. Thirty minutes later, one of Mexico’s most celebrated singers is nestled in a suite at her Miami hotel, makeup freshly reapplied, brown eyes twinkling.

She extends a dainty hand in greeting, her voice a feline, heavily accented purr. “Hello, and how are you? Are you feeling awake?” For someone who has spent the last few days crossing multiple time zones, she looks disarmingly alert. “Today, I have come from Chicago, and before that Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. I am always on a plane, promoting my music. But it is normal; it is my life.”

Paulina Rubio has been a Mexican treasure since, she says, the first day of her life. Her mother is the celebrated Latin American actress Susana Dosamantes, and Rubio stepped into the spotlight at age 7 in the popular children’s band Timbiriche.

“For 10 years, I am in this band. I make many friends, I see so many things, I learn so much,” she says, extending her lips both vertically and horizontally to reveal teeth as white and straight as piano keys.

Timbiriche were around for 10 years, until Rubio, then 17, decided to go solo. “I did some television shows and a bit of acting, but it was just a hobby for me. Music is my first love. I have had 24 albums in my career, and have sold maybe more than 20 million albums.”

Now, at a relatively ripe 31, she has just released her English-language debut, Border Girl, which, like the records of Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira before her, is bright, breezily charming and extremely rhythmic.

“I have been famous in Mexico since I was born,” she says. “But I want to go international, because Latin music is growing every day. I want to be part of the whole world. My Mexican fans won’t be jealous, because they know that music to me is like love.” It’s a requited love, too: Border Girl has been selling at a furious clip ever since its release. “Now I feel the love coming back to me very, very hot,” Rubio says.

Does she regret not bidding for world domination until her thirties, when Britney Spears did so by 21? Her smile melts from her lips like ice cream in the sun.

“No! I do not feel old at all, if that’s what you’re asking,” she says, a severe frown creasing her face. “Ricky and Jennifer are the same age. Maybe you’re thinking I am too old. Is this what you’re suggesting?”

Perish the thought. Rubio would look fabulous at any age. She practices yoga daily, which helps account for her startling figure. The love of a good man, she notes, keeps her energized. She has been with her boyfriend, a Spanish architect (“one of the most important in the world”), writer and producer, for eight years. They have several homes across the globe, and despite the ceaseless presence of paparazzi, they don’t allow negativity to intrude on their otherwise perfect lives.

“We don’t believe in the public eye,” Rubio insists, a little cryptically. “We just believe in love. One day we will have children, many.”

In the meantime, ambition continues to dictate her life. “I want my music to reach the whole universe,” she enthuses, eyes wide, smile now gigantic.
— Nick Duerden

Links:
Paulina Rubio official site






CLAUDETTE ORTIZ
The sexiest woman in hip-hop — one-third of City High — blows off an evening with Bill Clinton for a one-on-one with Blender!

To suggest that Claudette Ortiz is only slightly sexy is a little like suggesting Sean Combs is vaguely fond of pseudonyms. The time is midafternoon, the place a photographer’s studio in lower Manhattan, and the 20-year-old Puerto Rican singer of the trio City High is in a state of undress. Her micro hot pants adhere to her behind; the flimsy top she’s wearing employs less fabric than is required to make a baseball cap. Anything but bashful, Ortiz is enjoying every minute of it.

“Do I feel sexy?” she asks, Lolita-like. “Hell, yeah! I’m slowly getting to appreciate looking at myself. When I started being photographed, I hated it, because I was convinced I looked like a man. Growing up, I was always a tomboy. But now? I feel a woman through and through.”

The fewer the clothes, she says, the better.

“Afterward, I often feel I’ve gone too far,” she admits, “but it’s difficult, because at the time I have all these people telling me how great I look. My sister’s always getting on me for showing too much, being too provocative and having certain things hanging out that shouldn’t be. But come on — I’m not the only woman who does stuff like this, am I?” Her brow furrows, then relaxes. “Anyway, my mom loves them, so that’s good enough for me.”

Not surprisingly, Ortiz, the group’s lone female, is the focus of City High, a pop-wise hip-hop/R&B outfit that scored a big hit last year with the seductive “What Would You Do” and a platinum-selling eponymous debut album. The three — Ortiz alongside Ryan Toby and Robbie Pardlo, both 22 — all grew up in the same Willingboro, New Jersey, neighborhood and were concentrating on individual projects (Toby starred in Sister Act 2 and wrote “Miami” for Will Smith) when former Fugee Wyclef Jean suggested they work together.

They immediately clicked. The album is a highly accomplished collection of hip-hop and soul, unusual for the fact that its street-wise stories came not from harsh personal experience, but from The Jerry Springer Show.

“Hey, don’t knock it. Some of our best material came from him!” Ortiz cracks.

“The expectations on us were tough, because everybody assumed we were the new Fugees,” she continues. “But we are very much our own group, with our own identity. I was unsure whether we’d have any success. Robbie and Ryan thought we were going to sell, like, 10 million straight off. That didn’t happen, so we’ve got a way to go yet.”

Ortiz’s recent star turn on Jean’s forthcoming single, “Two Wrongs,” should shorten the distance to the top. There’s also the new City High CD — due, with luck, in the fall.

“We’re aiming for a September release,” Ortiz says. “But things have been real hectic for us lately. Take this evening: I’m here talking to you, when I should be at a dinner across town that Bill Clinton is attending.” Hold on: She’s blowing off a former president for Blender? “You got it. So much to do, so little time. Focus and priority, my friend, are everything.”

She’s sticking to that work ethic somewhat stringently. She has no boyfriend, and has no candidate in sight.

“It’s tough, because a woman has her needs, but I’m too busy,” she says. “Every day, I exercise, I pray, I read books, I practice my guitar and I meditate. City High are going places. In a couple of years, I plan to go solo, and I want to get into acting. That’s my main love.” She sits up straight and strikes a pose. “People are always telling me I look like Halle Berry.” She tilts her chin toward the light. “I don’t see it. Do you?”
— Nick Duerden

Links:
City High official site