Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 20 december
Thalia makes directorial debut

with HBO doc on quinceaneras

By SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS to see how families make She gave Zoey a special
Associated Press every possible effort to give gift: a dress designed for
NEW YORK (AP) — Thirty her a party ... to dress her her by Mitzy, the same de-
years after she starred in the with those dreamy dresses. signer who created Thalia’s
telenovela “Quinceane- And the union and the wedding dress in 2000.
ra,” Thalia makes her direc- love, that to me was the Thalia, who starred in Tele-
torial debut with an HBO important thing to share in visa’s 1987 “Quinceanera”
documentary about the these moments where ev- — considered one of the
importance in Latin culture erything around us, what most influential telenovelas
of celebrating a girl’s 15th we read in the newspaper, of the time for tackling is-
This image released by HBO shows a scene from “15: A what we hear in the news, sues like substance abuse,
Quinceanera Story,” a documentary co-directed by Thalia birthday.
and premiering on Tuesday. “15: A Quinceanera Story,” is negative, is upsetting, date rape and gangs —
Associated Press premiering Tuesday, in- is about death, is about didn’t have a traditional
cludes four episodes to be pain,” the Mexican singer quincenera party. She said
aired during consecutive and actress said. she wanted “a totally dif-
nights. “I want to bring some love, ferent dress” in a totally dif-
They go from a transgen- some light, some hope, ferent setting.
der teen who shares her some family, some roman- “I wanted a tube dress,
celebration with her trans ticism, some dreams with close-fitting down to the
godmothers who didn’t this documentary.” ankles, with a band on my
have a chance to have Co-directed by Matthew forehead and a giant bun,
their own quinceanera to O’Neill and executive very ‘80s, and long gloves.
an amateur female boxer produced by music mo- And instead of a party hall
whose father was deport- gul Tommy Mottola, who I celebrated it in a night-
ed and whose devoted is Thalia’s husband, “15: A club,” she said.
coach faces the same Quinceanera Story” starts “But when I did the tele-
fate. with an episode about novela the following year,
“This documentary comes Zoey, a Mexican-American that’s when it hit me and I
from my need to tell the transgender girl who Thalia fell in love with all the tra-
story of the Hispanic com- says has been the most dition of the big dress, the
munity, of the families that emotional for her. dance partners, of that
regardless of their social “I think that seeing her waltz that I didn’t want to
class, regardless of borders, beaming, happy, cele- have but that I ended up
make anything needed to brating her 15 years of age having in the telenovela
celebrate a party where with her trans-godmothers, and it was magical.
a girl will stop being a girl who were also there and “To me this is such an im-
and will become the wom- were seeing her as a mile- portant, wonderful ... tra-
an that’s going to face her stone in these times, in this dition. ... It is a family tra-
life from then on,” Thalia society we live in, I think is dition that’s very much us,
said in a recent interview. a truly striking, beautiful im- that’s very Latin, and it is
“It’s such a beautiful story age to see.” beautiful.”q

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to

address first ‘jazz congress’

NEW YORK (AP) — A new Abdul-Jabbar is best and social framework of
jazz conference seeks known as a Hall of Fame today’s society.
to determine what role basketball legend, he’s The goal of the Jazz
jazz can play in today’s also become a cultural Congress is to boost the
society, and it has tapped commentator and has jazz community, which
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as long been a jazz enthusiast; has dwindled over the
its keynote speaker. his father was a trombonist. decades.
Jazz Congress will hold its Abdul-Jabbar will discuss The conference will be
inaugural event on Jan. what role jazz can play held at Jazz at Lincoln
11 in New York City. While in the cultural, political Center.q

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