archived news headlines

January 31, 2005 - The Mirror reports that Ricky Martin was mistaken for the hotel piano player at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar in London. "He was playing for 30 minutes but being ignored," a source revealed. "So he thumped the keys hard and sang 'Livin' La Vida Loca'. People looked up - then went back to ignoring him."

January 31, 2005 - Ricky Martin shared his experience visiting Thailand and seeing victims of last month's tsunami on an episode of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show'. "I never thought I was going to see something like that. It was really intense," Martin said. "I've been trying to spend time alone in silence, trying to absorb the kind of pain that I've never felt in my life. My exercise is to try to look at the opposite of it and look at the beautiful things that this trip to Thailand gave me. I met people with such optimism; people that know what death is. People that left that behind and are ready to build. They're happy right now every time they inhale." Read more.

January 31, 2005 - Ricky Martin was photographed partying at Lotus nightclub in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Monday (January 24). Check out pictures from Abaca.

January 24, 2005 - Ricky Martin will have his visit to Thailand to meet with tsunami victims profiled on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' on Monday.

January 17, 2005 - Ricky Martin visited Wat Yan Yao in Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, on Friday (January 14). Martin toured tsunami-hit southern Thailand and called on his fellow celebrities to join him in helping the thousands of people in Asia affected by the disaster. Check out pictures from GettyImages and Yahoo.

January 17, 2005 - Ricky Martin visited the Tsunami hit area of Phuket, southern Thailand, to get an overview of the disaster on Thursday (January 13). Earlier in the day, he visited the demolished Patong Beach. Check out pictures from Abaca and Yahoo.

January 17, 2005 - Ricky Martin met with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Government House in Bangkok on Wednesday (January 12). Martin was on Thailand to visit tsunami-battered areas. Martin met with Thai orphan children at a Thai Red Cross Society in Bangkok. Check out pictures here.

January 17, 2005 - Ricky Martin arrived on Phuket island on Thursday (January 13), where more than five thousand people, both foreign tourists and local residents, died. Asked if he were to make a song about the disaster as part of an aid awareness campaign, he said, "Sure, why not a whole album?" Watch video of Martin's visit from Reuters.

January 17, 2005 - Ricky Martin left for Thailand on Monday night to visit tsunami victims and Thai officials. "He's going to be visiting shelters and he's meeting with the Thai foreign minister and interior minister, as well as various ambassadors, to raise awareness [in the] trafficking of children," the singer's rep told The New York Daily News. "Ricky has been very active in fighting child abuse and child trafficking in Latin America and he wants to see what his foundation can do to help and to raise awareness in Thailand."

January 10, 2005 - There is growing concern that children orphaned in the south Asian tsunami disaster are being sold as forced labor or even sex slaves. It is a dark part of the region's history, and something that has long been an issue for human rights advocates. For years, it's also caught the attention of Ricky Martin. The singer leaves for Thailand on Monday. CNN's Betty Nguyen had a chance to speak with Martin this weekend to talk to him about his works as a child advocate. Read on for a transcript.

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