Puerto Rican Designer Gets Political On NY Catwalk
Whatever the reason, the Grammys also face another issue. Initial figures from Nielsen said that 19.8 million people watched the show, a drop of more than one quarter from last year and the lowest in a decade.
Hurricane Maria left her atelier without power. Her seamstresses lost everything and her house flooded. But Puerto Rican designer Stella Nolasco put tragedy behind her to bring a color and optimism to New York Fashion Week, laced with a clear political message.
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2017 file photo, Cardi B performs at at Power 105.1's Powerhouse at Barclays Center in Brooklyn borough of New York. Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Charlie Puth and the Backstreet Boys will perform on the fifth annual iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 11(Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
The 2018 Billboard Music Awards paid tribute to the students and teachers affected by recent deadly shootings in Texas and Florida, while the night also featured show-stopping performances by iconic singer Janet Jackson and K-pop group BTS.
Justin Vernon of experimental rockers Bon Iver, who won the Best New Artist Grammy in 2012, wrote on Twitter that while Mars had a "fun voice," the singer "made a name in the INDUSTRY by making hits OUT of hits of yesteryear."
Juana Sostre Vazquez holds a printed photograph of her taken after Hurricane Maria destroyed her home, as she poses with her family inside her new, cinderblock home that has a temporary roof in the San Lorenzo neighborhood of Morovis, Puerto Rico, May 26, 2018. Last year's storm ripped Sostre's wooden home off its foundation in the central mountain highlands. Living on food stamps and Social Security payments, the 69-year-old grandmother rebuilt with the help of her son-in-law and $14,000 in FEMA aid. She said her metal roof is nailed to wooden two-by-fours because she couldn't afford to build stronger and hopes the next hurricane won't send it flying. "The money didn't let us do the roof," she said. "I'm doing it little by little as I save a couple of dollars." (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
She was just starting to prepare for her fall/winter 2018 collection when the monster storm tore through the island on September 20, devastating the US territory and leaving Puerto Rico without power or telecommunications for months.
The runway was a whirlwind of Puerto Rican modeling talent, headlined by former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres, 43, and Monic Perez, 28, who was Miss Universe Puerto Rico, along with Agueda Lopez, wife of "Despacito" singer Luis Fonsi.
San Lorenzo achieved some renown in 2013 when one of its fans, an Argentine cardinal called Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became Pope. Then it shot to fame again when soccer fans chanted its soccer-themed version of "Despacito," composed by a small group of devotees called "Escuela de Tablones" ("School of Wooden Planks"), in honor of the wooden seats in many stadiums. The chant went viral on social media and then was taken up by stadium crowds in Spain, Portugal, Italy, South Korea, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador.
But rap mogul Jay-Z, who led with eight nominations, left New York's Madison Square Garden empty-handed. Kendrick Lamar, who has given musical voice to the Black Lives Matter movement, for the second time swept the rap awards but was shut out in the general categories.
President Donald Trump's government was widely criticized over its response to the tragedy in the US territory. Authorities are still struggling to restore power and clean drinking water to all citizens, and total cost of damages has been estimated at $90 billion.
The duo's return marks an exception amid an exodus of Puerto Ricans, with the Pew Research Center estimating half a million have moved to the mainland in the past decade and migration only accelerating with the disaster.
Mars won Album and Record of the Year for "24K Magic," whose title track speaks of the sight of hot women "waking up the rocket" in his pants, and Song of the Year for "That's What I Like" about making love in high style.
Maria completely destroyed Roberto Figueroa Caballero's home and dozens of others in La Perla, a seaside neighborhood of San Juan made famous by the Luis Fonsi hit "Despacito." Figueroa works in a pizzeria, lives in a rented apartment and hopes to rebuild his home, but says the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected his application for construction aid twice, saying he does not qualify. Figueroa is appealing.
The show wasn't all somber though: Jackson rocked the Billboard Awards with an energetic and powerful performance of her past hits in an epic week that included her 52nd birthday and the 25th anniversary of her groundbreaking "janet." album.
But she said that Mars's high-energy dance routines could be an easier sell at the Grammys than Lamar, who put on a symbolism-rich performance with camouflage-clad dancers dropping to the ground to simulated bullets.
"There's definitely a softening of the sound and at the same time a more primal approach to it, almost like we are trying to reconnect with our roots," said Berrios, who grew up listening to everything from her father's vinyl obscurities to Top 40 US radio.
