El veintisiete de enero/January 27th

-
Photo from Vogue Italia Encylo. Click HERE
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Narciso Rodríguez! (1961-          )

An award-winning fashion designer who became a household name when he designed Carolyn Bessette's dress for her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996, Rodríguez was born in Newark, New Jersey to Cuban parents who had come here in search of the American Dream. As such, they were not thrilled when their son told them he wanted to be a designer (they were hoping for lawyer, or doctor, as Rodriguez explains in this interview (in Spanish) with CNN (Click HERE for my AP/S4 lesson on this interview). "They may not have understood my choices, but their actions taught me to take risks and have courage. They left their home in Cuba and came to a country where they didn't even speak the language," explains Rodríguez to Forbes writer Jessica Pliska in a 2016 interview, adding, "Even when I got a top job at Calvin Klein my mother offered, 'It isn't too late for your father to get you a job working with him on the docks'." Rodríguez didn't take his parents up on that offer, instead going on to work for several European houses before starting his own line. His clients include Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel Weisz, Hillary Swank, Claire Danes, and Jessica Alba, among others. Many of them are also close personal friends. In November of 2008, Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses when her husband first appeared as President-Elect of the United States. She went on to wear his dresses on several other high-profile occasions. In addition to his dresses, Rodríguez has also launched three fragrances and a shoe collection. In 2013, Rodríguez married long-time partner Thomas Tolan in a New York City ceremony. They live in New York City with their three dogs. To read about Rodríguez's "Sunday Routine" in the city (it includes Cuban coffee), click HERE.
Photo from Town & Country.
Click HERE. 


At left, Carolyn Bissette wears the dress designed for her by close friend Narciso Rodríguez at her 1996 wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. The dress was an instant hit and inspired thousands of copies, and it catapulted Rodríguez to fame. For Rodríguez, though, the moment was personal. "Carolyn was the love of my life and I just wanted to make her the most beautiful dress. It was a very special moment in my life" (CNN interview, see above). When the Kennedys died in a plane crash over the Atlantic Ocean in 1999, Rodríguez was devastated.




Michelle Obama in a Narciso Rodríguez dress
on Nov. 4th, 2008. Photo from Today Show interview with
Natalie Morales, click HERE.


Rodtríguez with friend Jessica
Alba in 2012 (Alba in one of
his dresses from the 2013
collection. Click HERE.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

El veintidós de agosto/August 22nd

-
Image
Photo from wavenespapers.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Ricardo Hurtado! (1999-      ) An actor and musician who became famous playing Freddy on the Nickelodeon series School of Rock , Hurtado was born to Nicaraguan parents in Miami. He moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia when he was one years old. Hurtado's father is a musician (a piano player with a degree in music from the University of Georgia). "Everyone on my dad's side of the family is a musician," he told an interviewer in 2016, adding that his uncle played the guitar. In the same interview , Hurtado talks about his faith and says, "My main goal in life if to be as close as I can be to God." He wrote his first song for this purpose -- his second song was about a breakup. Listen to Hurtado speak Spanish at this 2017 interview outside the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Read more

El siete de enero/January 7th

-
Image
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Juan Gabriel (Alberto Aguilera Valadez)! (1950-2016) "Music is mankind's way of thanking the universe for letting us be here." -Juan Gabriel       Photo from Billboard's write-up on Juan Gabriel's cover       of Creedence Clearwater's Have You Ever Seen    The Rain? (Gracias al sol) several months  before his death.  Click  HERE   to read and listen.  A Mexican singer, songwriter, and actor, and "the actual king of Latin pop" who was idolized by younger performers such as Marc Anthony, Juan Gabriel was adored by fans worldwide. He put out some 2,000 songs during his lifetime and sold out multiple concerts. He was not always as well-known by English-language speakers in the U.S., however, and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's wonderful 1999 profile of him in the  L.A. Times  (updated when he died in 2016 -- click  HERE  to read) includes a story about a West Hollywood a...
Read more

El diez de julio/July 10th

-
Image
Photo from El Porvenir. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Nicolás Guillén! (1902-1989) A Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer of African-European descent, Guillén was known during his life as the National Poet of Cuba. Born in Camagüey, he was the oldest of six children born to Nicolás Guillén y Urra, who had fought for Cuban independence from Spain, and Argelia Batista y Arrieta. Guillén's father belonged to the Partido Libertad and founded the daily newspaper La Libertad to express his views. Government forces assassinated Guillén's father for protesting electoral fraud and closed down his printing press. After that, Guillén's family struggled financially. Guillén was greatly influenced by meeting African-American poet Langston Hughes in 1930. Hughes' enthusiasm for Afro-Cuban music inspired Guillén, who was familiar with 'son' music from his father. Hughes immediately recognized the similarities between son music in Cuba and the b...
Read more