There was a meeting of beautiful minds here in Buenos Aires yesterday.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (center) arranged a brief encounter between the world’s most famous hostage and the world’s most famous hussy.
Ingrid Betancourt – released by Colombia’s rebel FARC group in July after six years in captivity – and Madonna – released in November by Guy Ritchie after eight years of marriage – exchanged greetings at the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the Argentine presidential palace where Cristina conducts business, and where Madonna sang her famous rendition of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” in the 1996 film “Evita.”
Betancourt was in town to thank Cristina for her efforts in trying to secure her release from the jungles of Colombia. Madonna is here to perform four sold-out concerts, beginning tonight. No official word on what Cristina and Madge discussed, but haute couture and botox may have been on the agenda.
According to the AP, Madonna arrived early for her planned meeting with Cristina. My guess is that this was no mistake; the calculating Material Girl knew a photo-op with roundly-admired Betancourt would likely garner more headlines than one just with Argentina’s fashion-conscious firebrand leader.
Madonna kicks off the South American leg of her “Sticky & Sweet” tour tonight at the 65,000 capacity River Plate Stadium. The shows will reportedly be filmed for a live DVD release next year; U2 (“U2 3D”) and The Police (“Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires”) also filmed their River shows for live films. (I was in the crowd for both concerts; awesome).
After BsAs, Madonna moves on to Santiago, Chile for two concerts and then Brazil, where she’ll play a total of five shows in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The four sold-out Buenos Aires dates are more than any other city on her world tour. That’s quite impressive, really, considering Argentina’s weak currency and low wages. As I’ve written before, people in Argentina truly appreciate a good show, and are willing to pay for it, both financially and emotionally, as long as they are rewarded once the music starts.
I’ll be there tonight; I'm anxious to see if Madonna can deliver the goods.
Photo courtesy AP/Argentine Presidency
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