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Jennifer Lopez Sets Up & Performs At Puerto Rico Fundraising Telethon
by Jennifer Lopez performed at the “One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert for Disaster Relief” telethon event to raise money and support for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
JENNIFER LOPEZ ON “SOMOS LIVE!” PUERTO RICO BENEFIT TELETHON
Lopez, 48, organized the event with ex-husband Marc Anthony and current boyfriend Alex Rodriguez. In addition to performing multiple songs, Lopez also took to the stage to speak about the importance of these fundraising efforts.
“Tonight, we are all here as one voice, to declare loudly and clearly in English and Spanish to every man woman and child in Puerto Rico and beyond that you are not forgotten, you are not alone,” the singer said. “We are all here to help, not just because you are Americans but also because you are family, familia. This disaster hits very close to home. We will never forget those terrifying days where many of us could not find our friends and family, and hear their beautiful voices.”
The telethon features performances by Latin stars, such as Anthony, Daddy Yankee and Gente de Zona in Miami, while Lopez, Demi Lovato, Maroon 5, Ricky Martin, Gwen Stefani, and Stevie Wonder took the stage in Los Angeles. Funds from the project will go to various charities, such as Feeding America, Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity, Unidos for Puerto Rico, United Way, Hispanic Federation’s UNIDOS Fund, and UNICEF.
“This is my new full-time job,” Lopez said of putting the program together. “It’s been crazy, but it’s a passion project. When you want to do something, you can do it! Everybody has stepped up to the plate to help pull this off.”
Prior to the event, Lopez told People, “Right when the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, Marc and I got on the phone and started talking about what we could do. Alex was right next to me and he started spitballing things we could do,” she explained. “From there, we just started organizing as many people as we could in our specific arenas and pulled this thing together.” She shared that she personally called almost every star that was invited to perform or appear. “Everybody’s been so receptive and just ‘What can we do? How can we help?’ It just restores your faith that there’s so many good people in this world that want to help each other,” she added. “That’s what the message of the night is. We’re here, we’re here for you, you’re not forgotten in Puerto Rico.”
Lopez took to Instagram to thank all those involved in the event. “#SomosLive tonight was soooo amazing!! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and donated! The phone lines are open all weekend! Call in!! Gracias!!!” she wrote in one caption. “Thank you for everyone who tuned in and donated…30 million and counting!! We are so grateful!! We are One Voice #somoslive #lovewins❤️,” she said in another.
On working with both her ex and her current beau, Lopez said it wasn’t awkward at all given the importance of the project. “There’s just no question about it when it comes to things like this,” she said about simultaneously working with her ex-husband and boyfriend. “The truth is, we are all one. We are all family. We are doing this because it’s the right thing to do. Our community needs us right now, and we are very aware that we are leaders in our community. If we step out and do something, hopefully people will follow and do the same.”
Rodriguez, 42, has been doing his part and bringing in donations from the sports and business world. “Honestly, his contribution has been massive in this effort,” Lopez continued. “We couldn’t have done a lot of the fundraising without him. He brought in a whole different faction of people that Hollywood and the music industries aren’t really connected to. We were very lucky to have him involved and leading this with us.”
Article by Hillary Luehring-Jones
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