Carrillo Plotting His Return to Telenovelas

It’s been about 12 years since Fernando Carrillo appeared in the telenovela Siempre te amaré… But you won’t have to wait too much longer to see him back on the small screen.

The 46-year-old Venezuelan actor—who set hearts aflutter in hit telenovelas like Abigail, Maria Isabel and Rosalinda with Thalia—is ready to make his triumphant return to the kind of TV dramas that won him international acclaim. While he doesn’t have a project lined up just yet, he’s definitely on the lookout.

Fernando Carrillo

“During these 12 years I’ve done many things,” Carrillo tells Efe. “I’ve done movies, theater, I started my career as a businessman, my boy Angel Gabriel was born and I faced the toughest moments of my life when my parents died.”

Carrillo’s business endeavors as vice president for global expansion of the Sunset World group—owner and operator of six hotels in Mexico—have taken up a lot of his time.

Last November Carrillo moved to Los Angeles to host the sixth season of the reality competition Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento on Estrella TV. He’s also been working simultaneously on several projects for the Hispanic market.

“I’m also in talks to work out my return to telenovelas – fortunately there are options right now in Mexico, Argentina and Miami,” he said.

With a career that began in 1986 with La Dama de Rosa, Carrillo’s international fame spread like wildfire and still remains steady in the more than 70 countries where his telenovelas have aired.

Most recently, he wrapped up work on a film in the Dominican Republic, Lotoman II.

“Its premiere is scheduled for Nov. 1 and we hope it equals or surpasses the great success of Lotoman I, the biggest box-office hit in the history of the Dominican Republic,” he said.

Thalia to Headline a New Telenovela

Before becoming an international singing sensation, Thalía rose to acclaim in telenovelas like Marimar, María la del Barrio, Maria Mercedes and Rosalinda… And, now it looks like she’s headed back to her roots.

The 40-year-old Mexican actress/singer has reportedly agreed to headline a brand new telenovela.

Thalia

After reviewing several offers, it appears that Thalía has found the right project to get her back in front of the cameras. Details of the new melodrama are being kept under wraps, but sources say the project will be an original story that was written specifically for her. The story will apparently be a romantic comedy that will consist of 100 episodes. No word yet on who will be her romantic counterpart.

As part of her deal to return to television, Thalía laid down strict rules. She’s asked for creative input, a request accepted by producers Roberto Gomez and Pedro Torres. She also asked for a flexible shooting schedule to help accommodate her busy life as a wife and mother.

Thalia Lending Her Voice to Latest Dora the Explorer Special

Call it Thalia’s big adventure…

The 40-year-old Mexican singer/actress will be lending her voice to an upcoming television special featuring characters from Dora the Explorer.

Thalia

Thalia will provide the voice of the mermaid’s mother in Nickelodeon’s Dora’s Rescue in Mermaid Kingdom, set to air Friday night.

The story centers on the efforts of Dora and Boots to help Maribel—a lost mermaid they encounter on the beach—get back to her mother in the Mermaid Kingdom.

“Dora is such an iconic and important Latina heroine, and I’m proud to now be a part of the show’s ever-growing legacy,” says Thalia, a mother of two. ““I was thrilled to play a role on Dora the Explorer, a show that has touched the lives of many children around the world including my own child.”

Dora, now voiced by 7-year-old Fatima Ptacek, is a 7-year-old bilingual Latina who explores an “imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests.”

In its more than 10 year history on the air, the Emmy-winning show has featured guests like John Leguizamo, Cheech Marin, Ricardo Montalban, Esai Morales and Chita Rivera.

Bündchen Reveals Third Collection for C&A…

She may be a runway superstar, but there’s more to Gisele Bündchen than a stellar walk…

The 31-year-old Brazilian supermodel—one of the world’s most powerful women, according to Forbes magazine—recently launched her new collection of clothes and accessories for the Dutch retailer C&A.

gisele_bundchen_for_c&a

The “Gisele Bündchen for C&A” summer collection, her third collection for the retailer, includes cropped blazers, flowery dresses and Panama hats.

The collection will only be available at the Brazilian branches of the retail chain.

In addition to its partnership with Bündchen, C&A has previously collaborated with other Latina celebrities, including Christina Aguilera, Fergie and Thalía.

Click here to check out the “Gisele Bündchen for C&A” line.

This Year’s Best Latina Celebrity Halloween Costumes

All Hallows Eve is drawing to a close… Throughout the weekend and well into Halloween night, our favorite Latina celebs were out in full force at bewitching holiday parties, events and outings in their most inspired costumes. So who was the best of the best?

Here’s a look at some of this year’s standouts:

Nicole Richie

No, no… That’s not Jennifer Lopez. That’s the 30-year-old Nicole Richie channeling la Lopez at Kate Hudson’s Halloween party in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Image courtesy of Flynet.

Jessica Alba

Even a large mole can’t detract from Jessica Alba’s spell-binding beauty. The half-Mexican American actress wore a witch costume to Kate Hudson’s Halloween party in Los Angeles.

Image courtesy of Flynet.

Alessandra Ambrosio


Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio donned a Black Swan-inspired outfit for a Halloween party at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. There’s no denying the 30-year-old Brazilian bombshell looked white-hot!

Image courtesy of AKM Images.

Natalie Morales

During The Today Show’s Halloween Day reenactment of Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton, news anchor Natalie Morales dressed as Pippa Middleton.

Image courtesy of Getty.

Lea Michele

Glee star Lea Michele paid tribute to Natalie Portman‘s Oscar-winning role in Black Swan at a Halloween party this year. The part-Spanish actress dressed as the good “Swan Queen.”

Sofia Vergara

She’s commonly spotted in tight-fitting attire. But Modern Family star Sofia Vergara actually covered up for Halloween. The Colombian actress Tweeted this picture of herself dressed in an Angry Birds costume on Saturday.

Thalia


Mexican singer/actress Thalia dressed as a traditional Dia de los Muertos doll at Bette Midler‘s New York Restoration Project’s Hulaween on Friday night in New York City.

Image courtesy of Fame Pictures.

Francia Raisa

Francia Raisa wasn’t afraid to bare skin this Halloween. The part-Mexican, part-Honduran Secret Life of the American Teenager actress dressed as the iconic Star Wars character, Princess Leia.

So, who do you think was this year’s best-dressed Latina this Halloween?

A “Feliz Navidad” with Thalía & Michael Bublé…

Christmas may be weeks away, but why not start getting into the holiday spirit now with a little help from Latin singing sensation Thalía and  Michael Bublé.

A "Feliz Navidad" with Thalía & Michael Bublé...

The 40-year-old Mexican singer/actress has partnered with Bublé to record Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano’s instant-classic holiday tune “Feliz Navidad”—one of the most downloaded and played Christmas songs in the U.S. and Canada.

In Thalía and Bublé’s spirited version of “Feliz Navidad,” the arrangement starts with a few lines from another song, “Mis Deseos,” before the pair starts in on Feliciano’s classic. Thalia and Bublé alternate singing lines—in English and Spanish—before joining voices on the up-tempo chorus.

The duet is featured on the 36-year-old Canadian crooner’s new holiday album, “Christmas,” which was released this week.

So what do you think of Thalia & Bublé’s take on “Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad”?

Introducing Thalia’s New Man!

It’s no wonder Thalía is all smiles on the latest cover of Spanish-language magazine, Hola! She’s showing off one of her “greatest hits,” her newborn son Matthew Alejandro Mottola.


The 40-year-old Mexican singer/actress, who gave birth to little Matthew on June 25, couldn’t be happier.

“I have never been so crazy in love with a man,” Thalía confessed.

Matthew appears all wide-eyed in his mother’s arms on the cover of the weekly Spanish-language magazine.

He’s Thalía’s second child with her music producer husband Tommy Mottola. The pair have a daughter, 3-year-old Sabrina Sakaë.

“I know my son was born a gladiator because his first battle against pain, distress and loss was something he lived through in my belly during the last month of my pregnancy with the death of my mother,” the telenovela star says of her son. Thalia’s mom died of heart disease earlier this way. Shortly after, she expressed her grief on Twitter.

“Half of my soul has died today… I feel as if I’m dying slowly… thank you for your prayers for my warrior, for my mother,” the singer tweeted.

So could three-month-old Matthew be destined for a career in music? Possibly!

“He loves to listen to mambo and sleeps to the music, so I play Pérez-Prado and it’s done!” says Thalía, who is hard at work on a new album. “I love it because he came out like my grandmother, she loved to listen to mambo every day.”

Although she’d like to have another child in the near future, Thalía wants to finish up some of her current projects, including her work on a new album and autobiography.

Cover image courtesy of Hola! magazine.