DUBAI: Beginning with the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1875 and ending with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, this book explores the intersection of education and nationalism in Spain.
Based on a broad range of archival and published sources, including parliamentary and ministerial records, pedagogical treatises and journals, teachers’ manuals, memoirs, and a sample of over two hundred primary and secondary school textbooks, the study examines ideological and political conflict among groups of elites seeking to shape popular understanding of national history and identity through the schools, both public and private.
A burgeoning literature on European nationalisms has posited that educational systems in general, and an instrumentalized version of national history in particular, have contributed decisively to the articulation and transmission of nationalist ideologies. The Spanish case reveals a different dynamic.
In Spain, a chronically weak state, a divided and largely undemocratic political class, and an increasingly polarized social and political climate impeded the construction of an effective system of national education and the emergence of a consensus on the shape and meaning of the Spanish national past.
What We Are Reading Today: Gregorian Chant and the Carolingians by Kenneth LevyWhat We Are Reading Today: Essays on the Anthropology of Reason by Paul Rabinov https://ift.tt/380kC5w January 01, 2021 at 02:15AM
Feeling nostalgic for the good old days of Al-Balad’s cozy, lively cafes and cafeterias? Adani Bar is a newly opened cafe that offers old town coziness but with a modern twist.
Adani Bar specializes in Adani tea, the most popular variety in Yemen and a favorite among Saudis.
The tea is made from black tea with condensed milk, sugar, cardamom pods and cloves, and is known for its sweetness, aroma and high caffeine content.
The tiny cafe also offers a menu featuring Al-Balad favorites such as pastrami, cheddar with blueberry or strawberry jam, and tuna sandwiches.
Adani Bar’s signature order is a cold beverage named Adan-ish, a mixture of Adani tea and espresso coffee shot with Adani flavor soft serve.
The cafe also serves desserts such as brownies, bassbosa, strawberry scones and cakes.
Adani Bar is located in Jeddah, Al-Rawdah district. Open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Lebanese trio’s second studio album was one of the first releases of 2020, hitting the shelves in early January and ahead of several planned tours that were eventually called off for obvious reasons. The record was a prescient opener to a year that would not only see the world descend into pandemic pandemonium, but also the band’s hometown of Beirut — already crippled by economic collapse and civil unrest — succumb to widespread destruction. “The Good Soldier” is a fitting soundtrack to the city’s painful ordeal, weaving shoegaze-y, melancholic instrumental landscapes and memorable vocal hooks into a sonic sculpture that turns catharsis into an art form.
Flugen
‘Poupayee’
Flugen is a one-woman musical army led by the multi-instrumental musical genius of Maya Aghniadis. With “Poupayee,” she has fashioned a stunning alchemy of mostly instrumental pieces that take the listener on a wildly fascinating journey. Mesmerizing tribal beats punctuate passages stepped in dreamy piano and flute-driven melodies, never once letting up in their command of one’s attention. Aghniadis’ music has been labeled as ‘ethno-electro jazz,’ but her latest record makes it strikingly obvious that she’s an artist who will continue to elude categorization with her passion for experimentation.
Sons of Yusuf
‘Shaykh the World’
Kuwaiti brothers Ya’koob and Abdul Rahman Al-Refaie started hip-hop outfit Sons of Yusuf in 2011, and after a string of gripping singles and last year’s EP collaboration with Shafiq Husayn, the siblings finally dropped their first full-length album. Released at the height of the pandemic in April, the two rhyme-slingers offered a much-needed dose of positivity and culturally incisive wit to music fans in a world justifiably enveloped by doom and gloom. “Shaykh the World” is a major achievement for the region’s hip-hop scene, and absolutely essential listening.
Emel Mathlouthi
‘The Tunis Diaries’
The singer was about to depart her native Tunis and fly back home to New York City when the international travel ban took hold. She capitalized on being stranded by borrowing a classical guitar and laptop, and taking to the rooftop of the building she was staying in. The fruits of her labor became a captivating double album that sees the critically acclaimed songwriter offer up solo renditions of some of her best-known tracks, as well as compelling covers including Nirvana’s “Something in the Way,” System of a Down’s “Aerials,” and David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World.” In stark contrast to last year’s theatrical, electronica-laden masterpiece “Everywhere We Looked Was Burning,” Mathlouthi’s haunting vocal performances this time around draw the listener in with their quiet intensity, as the guitarist’s delicate but deliberate plucking keeps the intimate aura of the proceedings on track at all times.
Faraj Suleiman
‘Better Than Berlin’
The indefatigable Palestinian composer and pianist found form and sense in a chaotic year with a riveting new LP, building on a fast-growing musical legacy of successful releases that earned him an artist residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, where he lives. Suleiman balances emotion and instrumental mastery in an alluring, seamless whirlwind of Western jazz interspersed with Eastern musical influences, playful Arabic lyrics and hints of his penchant for rock music. “Better Than Berlin” is a spellbinding showcase that hits all the right notes and captures the musical ability of an innovative instrumentalist firing on all cylinders.
Bab L’Bluz
‘Nayda!’
This Moroccan-French quartet plays with such intent and cohesion that it’s hard to believe they’ve been together for only two short years. This debut LP is a powerful declaration of the band’s intention to “reclaim the blues for North Africa.” The enchanting vocal lines delivered by charismatic singer Yousra Mansour are expertly navigated by the delectable grooves of the three musicians that accompany her with hypnotic mélanges of percussion and guembri — the three-stringed bass-lute. Bab L’Bluz (Arabic for ‘Door to Blues’) have emerged as torchbearers for the ‘nayda’ youth movement of artists that sing in the Moroccan-Arabic dialect of darija and are deeply inspired by local heritage.
El Rass
‘Bab Al Doukhoul’
El Rass (Arabic for ‘the head’) is Mazen El-Sayed, rapper and music producer from Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli. His razor-sharp verses and politically charged lyrical diatribes have been the hallmark of his many collaborations and growing repertoire of imaginative, infectiously rhythmic LPs. The specter of economic and societal calamity in his native Lebanon understandably hangs over “Bab Al Doukhoul” with even more urgency than on his earlier releases. This record sees the inventive talent truly at the top of his game while finding new and intriguing ways to elevate his craft.
Sobhhï
‘RED III’
Dubai-born Sobhhï has largely been a man of mystery as his legend continues to grow in the regional R&B scene and beyond. The singer and songwriter has crafted a cryptic persona around his prolific release schedule for the past few years: He doesn’t perform live (although he reportedly plans to), his promotional photography rarely shows his face, and he has repeatedly stated his admirable preference for letting the tunes do all the talking. “RED III” was, in fact, his second 2020 EP (following “PLEASURES” earlier in the year) and it’s a thrilling addition to his catalog of magnetic beats and sultry vocal displays that the artist himself has aptly dubbed “music for late nights.”
Various artists
‘Beirut Remixed’
Featuring remixes of tracks from five luminaries of the Lebanese indie scene — Mashrou’ Leila, Adonis, Who Killed Bruce Lee, Lumi, and The Bunny Tylers — by veteran EDM maestros Jade and Jad Taleb and acclaimed producer ETYEN, “Beirut Remixed” is an engaging electronic reimagining of some of the artists’ most-celebrated songs. Released by Etyen’s Thawra Records as a tribute to the Lebanese capital in light of this year’s cataclysmic August 4th explosion, the record is a testament to the creative energy that Beirut has regularly summoned throughout the past decade to produce jewels such as this one.
DUBAI: Everybody has a dream. “Soul,” the latest film from Disney’s beloved Pixar Animation Studios, is about a man who refuses to let even death get in the way of achieving his. His name is Joe Gardner, and he’s a middle-aged schoolteacher who wants nothing more than to become a professional jazz musician. It’s a film about the struggles and beauty of life, and the spirit inside of all of us yearning to be fulfilled, this time made literal.
Kemp Powers, the film’s co-writer and director, knows exactly how Gardner feels.
“I was a journalist for 17 years. You’re actually witnessing my second career unfolding. Creative writing was definitely something that I wanted to do for a long time and pursued on nights and weekends, often to the consternation of my journalist compatriots who said how impossible it was to move into (that professionally),” Powers tells Arab News.
Kemp Powers is the film’s co-writer and director. (Supplied)
Self-actualization isn’t that simple, of course. While Kemp, who also wrote the acclaimed film “One Night in Miami,” based on his own play, has finally manifested the career he wanted for himself, his co-director Pete Docter is still trying to figure out what his spirit wants, even after winning two Academy Awards for “Up” (2009) and “Inside Out” (2015).
“I felt like this is what I was born to do, animation, and ‘Inside Out’ was, by any mark, a success. And yet, afterwards, I still found myself expecting more. Somehow (I thought) it was going to fix everything in my life, and it didn't. There was a lot of stuff that's still broken in my own inner world. I think that’s really what sparked this film,” says Docter.
Docter spent a lot of time after what could be considered his greatest career success wondering what he was meant to be doing with his life, and if he was doing it right, he says. He may not have figured out all the answers yet, but “Soul” was a way for him to continue exploring, through the fictional lives of his characters.
The film is about a man who refuses to let even death get in the way of achieving his dream. (Supplied)
“I think the thing we're always trying to do in any Pixar film is to say, ‘OK, on one level this is just going to be hopefully fun, funny, something for everybody.’ But that gives a Trojan-horse opportunity to deliver something deeper, and really think about what we’re going to be working on for four or five years,” says Docter, referencing the average amount of time each Pixar film takes to make.
“We are trying to tap into things that we struggle with. Our joys, our successes, our pain, failures, all those things go into these movies,” he continues. “Even though they're about fish, or horses, or bugs, or whatever, they're really about us.”
In “Soul,” Gardner escapes the afterlife and finds himself in the before-life, a place where new souls are being prepared for their life on earth, figuring out their passions and personality before their journey begins.
Jamie Foxx provides the voice of Joe Gardner. (Supplied)
“(That idea) started with my son,” says Docter. “He’s 23 now, but the instant he was born he already had a personality. Where did that come from? I thought your personality developed through your interaction with the world. And yet, it was pretty clear that we’re all born with a very unique, specific sense of who we are.”
Jamie Foxx, who provides the voice of Joe Gardner, has certainly always known who he is.
“(Joe’s) dream is to one day play with (a jazz legend named) Dorothea Williams. It’s like a basketball player who wants to play in Madison Square Garden. I was born with a similar spark — I came out singing and telling jokes,” says Foxx.
Foxx, unlike Gardner, has been successful for decades in multiple fields, winning both an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in 2004’s “Ray,” as well as two Grammy Awards for the songs “Gold Digger” and Blame It.”
“We cornered him on set and said, ‘Is there anything you can't do — that you're not great at?’” says Docter. “And he said, ‘Bowling.’”
Tina Fey stars opposite Foxx as 22, a soul who doesn’t want to be born. Whereas Gardner knows exactly who he wants to be, 22 has no idea and has given up trying, leading them both on a journey of self-discovery.
“I think the ways in which she’s cynical and the things that she’s scared of are really relatable. Life is scary at times, and life hurts. Everyone has those moments of ‘It’s too much!’” says Fey.
In 2020, nearly everyone was able to relate to that sentiment. After a year filled with so much uncertainty, co-director Kemp hopes that the film, one of 2020’s last major releases, helps people realize that uncertainty is just a part of the journey.
“I don't think anyone, at the beginning of the process, could have predicted the state the world was going to be in, but I'm a big believer that things happen at the time that they're supposed to happen,” says Kemp.
The Lebanese artist discusses her egg-shaped artwork, covered in Arabic writing, which is on show at Galerie Janine Rubeiz in Beirut until February 16, 2021.
My medium has always been language — as a visual aspect but also as content: What is it able to create in the mind of the viewer? Repetition is a tool that’s always present in my work as it can be really overwhelming.
This work is tied to the theme of my exhibition, which is based on a group of words in Arabic. I came up with these words in a small notebook called “Al-Daken Wa ‘Oubouroh” (Darkness and its Crossing).
The artist’s egg-shaped artwork is covered in Arabic writing. (Supplied)
I used this notebook to sometimes escape from my work or to try my hand at finding some stimulation and inspiration. Some of the words are: The dark, the frightful, the repulsive, the fatal, the tormentor, the colossal, the deadly, the horrifying, the bitter, the abyssal, the destructive, the obscure, the painful, the venomous, the ruthless, the secretive… There are more than 200 of these words that focus on darkness in terms of color and its sacred side, but I never used the term ‘black.’ They’re also descriptive of an emotional state — of psychological suffering, which leads to physical pain.
It’s descriptive of the human condition that people know exists but they don’t go near it and try to avoid it. There are so many ugly things in our world and we don’t want to know about them. And when we do know about them, it shocks us.
There were mistakes when I was writing – sometimes my hand would smudge the text. But these mistakes are necessary. If everything was identical, it would look as if it was printed. It took me three or four days to write everything by hand and I used plaster to make the egg.
Why the shape of an egg? There’s something mysterious about it, as if it’s hiding something. It is the origin of things. I made this egg in 2019, but, honestly, many Lebanese felt that it was made now. In the end, an artwork should be universal, through which people are looking for a specific identification.
DUBAI: This Italian restaurant is located in Jumeirah, one of Dubai’s most famous areas, and offers a cozy vibe with delicious dishes.
As soon as you take the elevator down to Scalini, you will walk into an outdoor area that feels like a backyard of a high-end Italian house. A big tree is situated in the middle of the courtyard and the tables are spread all around it, while the whole area is decorated with wooden accents, warm lights and greenery. In the closed space, the white walls are adorned with frames and various images, creating a homey and expensive vibe. The venue amps the Italian vibe with music and dish names are in Italian.
Once you are seated, the waiter brings you a basket of various breads, from baguettes to breadsticks, to eat with a small side of diced tomatoes and a separate dish of olives.
I did expect to enjoy Italian dishes at Scalini, but I did not expect to have the best fried squid I ever had. The tender calamari rings, which is squid in Italian, were enveloped in a thin layer of light batter and came with a side of creamy and sour tartar sauce. The dish was not greasy or chewy at all and was perfectly complemented by the sauce.
Another interesting dish to try at the restaurant is the Tartare di Manzo, or beef tartare, which is part of their festive menu and will be served till January 7. The raw Australian beef angus comes with chives, shallots, Scalini’s mustard sauce, rockets and parmesan cheese. The waiter mixes the meat and the sauce right in front of your eyes, which makes this meal also entertaining. The fresh beef is supple with a fresh meaty, almost creamy flavor, which melts into the sourness of the tartare and the saltiness of the cheese.
For the mains, we ordered Spaghetti all’Astice, which is the restaurant’s signature dish cooked with lobster and tomato sauce. The perfectly cooked pasta is stuffed inside the lobster shell, which the waiter then moves to your dish for you to enjoy the flavorful and slightly spicy spaghetti.
However, one of our favorites was the Milanese, which is a breaded veal escalope on the bone. The tenderness and juiciness of the thinly pounded is a testimony to the cooking skills of the chefs at Scalini. You can literally cut through the meat as if you were cutting through butter. As a side, we also ordered broccoli, which were buttery garlicky goodness that was cooked but still crispy.
We concluded the meal with a delicious portion of the Semifreddo Pistachio. The creamy goodness of this dessert will satisfy your sweet tooth cravings with its balanced flavor and variety of textures. It looks like the Arabic halwa, and even has a similar flaky and creamy texture, which is complemented by the crispiness of the biscuit and the pistachio. This is exactly what you should order when you are not sure whether you want to go for a dessert or an ice cream.
Overall, the restaurant offers a cozy and warm venue with good Italian food.
CHENNAI: It may seem such a dichotomy that while 19th century upper-class women in England were headstrong and knew exactly what they wanted, they hankered after men who could be good husbands and fathers.
US romance author Julia Quinn’s eight bestselling novels, penned between 2000 and 2006, are all about England’s nobility and royalty as they lived in the 1800s, and Netflix and Shondaland’s new piece – eight episodes in all of under an hour each – adapts Quinn’s first in the series, “The Duke and I.”
Titled “Bridgerton,” the TV series is a feast for the eyes with its fancy balls, fancier dresses, and the usual mix of delicate ladies and dashing men all making their way in a society where mothers are desperate to see their girls settle with good husbands.
While the series — which has taken the world by storm — features a fresh take on powerful women, even though they are working within the confines of what society expects of them, another more important point is the inclusiveness the series portrays. Black men and women feature among the noble elite in a far cry from the reality of Regency England.
The plot kicks off with the 1813 “season” in London when single women are paraded before the Queen and attend one ball after another in the hope of finding a suitable match. (YouTube)
Main characters Simon Basset (Rege-Jean Page) and Queen Charlotte of England (Golda Rosheuvel) are both black, for example, although in the latter’s case this may actually have rung true, with some historians arguing that she may have descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family.
The reimaging of Regency-era high society is refreshing to say the least.
The plot kicks off with the 1813 “season” in London when single women are paraded before the Queen and attend one ball after another in the hope of finding a suitable match.
The drama follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) as she navigates the cut-throat world of nobles in a bid to find a husband and keep her family’s honor intact while doing so — a trope that runs throughout the series, but one that is not confined to history in many parts of the world.
Titled “Bridgerton,” the TV series is a feast for the eyes with its fancy balls and fancier dresses. (YouTube)
The makers injected a bit of “Gossip Girl” style fun with the introduction of a scandal sheet of a newsletter, written by Lady Whistledown (Julie Andrews offers the voiceover here), which pulls the veil back on society’s innermost secrets and sets tongues wagging — and events into motion — throughout the series.
Created by “Scandal” producer Chris Van Dusen, “Bridgerton” does have points of relevance and essays the dawn of women’s rights nicely, especially through the character of Eloise Bridgeton, wonderfully played by Claudia Jessie. Interestingly, the series also focuses on women’s rights to enjoy marital pleasures in a very 21st century take on husband-and-wife relationships.
However, beyond this, “Bridgerton” comes off as a shallow piece of fiction that outweighs itself with style, not substance, because so much of it is all about how a woman looks.
We have had Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, who also spoke about these, but gave their stories something solid for us to reflect upon long after we stopped turning the pages.
DUBAI: After numerous delays, the Arabic-language remake of the Italian hit “Perfect Strangers” is set to begin shooting in February, having assembled an all-star cast of some of the region’s brightest talent, including Oscar-nominee Nadine Labaki, Egyptian superstar Mona Zaki and “The Insult” star Adel Karam.
“We realized we have a project that’s a gift to great actors. Great actors love to have characters like the ones in ‘Perfect Strangers’,” Wissam Smayra, the film’s director, told Arab News.
“Each role in this film has its own magic, its own moments to shine. It’s a very moving story. Each time I read the script I get close to tears.”
The film will reunite several key players from the highest-grossing Middle Eastern film of all time, “Capernaum.”
Smayra produced Labaki’s megahit, and “Perfect Strangers” co-star George Khabbaz, the acclaimed Lebanese writer and performer of stage and screen, co-wrote “Capernaum” with Labaki.
Smayra said: “Nadine and I are very, very old friends. We started our careers together. We’re very close, like family. She was the first person I thought of. I knew Nadine would be amazing in the main role. It was a natural fit.”
He added: “And George is an amazing person and one of the biggest stars in Lebanon. I’m so happy he’s on board and playing a good role in the film. It’s going be fun to see them together in a movie.”
The new edition of “Perfect Strangers” incorporates the problems of the current day, set amid the Lebanese revolution and COVID-19 pandemic.
But it maintains the same set up as the Italian original, in which seven long-time friends meet for a dinner party and decide to play a game.
Each guest places their mobile phone on the table and makes incoming calls and messages visible to the whole group, revealing secrets they have been keeping from one another.
“I think it’s great because it really plays with the taboos of our culture, revealing what’s hidden inside each of the people you know,” said Smayra.
“It’s extreme humanity under this theme of opening Pandora’s Box, as some things shouldn’t be said or known.”
The film incorporates multiple Arab cultures, with an Egyptian couple joining the dinner party in Lebanon and the relationship between those two cultures explored.
Mona Zaki, the star of numerous Egyptian hits such as “30 Years Ago” (2019) and “Scheherazade: Tell Me A Story” (2009), was the first choice for the role.
“She’s a big star and an amazing actress. In ‘Perfect Strangers’ she plays a broken person. She’s a broken character. I don’t want to give it away, but she has an amazing finale. It’s a fantastic role,” said Smayra.
The acclaimed original grossed over $31 million and has already spawned more than a dozen remakes in different countries worldwide, raking in a collective $270 million.
Smayra and his co-writer Gabriel Yammine have rebuilt the film from the ground up, trying to avoid imitating the original and its performances, and giving the heavyweight cast something new to work on together.
“This is a big challenge for me as a director, as well as for the actors. We have to create something really relevant,” said Smayra.
“It’s very important when I’m working with the actors to work on this story of each character and leave room for improvement, a space where they can express themselves. I’m putting them together, and now we’ll see how the magic will return.”
The film is produced by Gianluca Chakra (“Luxor”), Mohamed Hefzy (Netflix’s “Paranormal”, “Luxor”, “Sheikh Jackson”) and Mario Haddad, and is executive produced by Mayada Hiraki.
Filming throughout February, “Perfect Strangers” is aiming for a release at the end of 2021 across the Middle East.
DUBAI: This Italian restaurant is located in Jumeirah, one of Dubai’s most famous areas, and offers a cozy vibe with delicious dishes.
As soon as you take the elevator down to Scalini, you will walk into an outdoor area that feels like a backyard of a high-end Italian house. A big tree is situated in the middle of the courtyard and the tables are spread all around it, while the whole area is decorated with wooden accents, warm lights and greenery. In the closed space, the white walls are adorned with frames and various images, creating a homey and expensive vibe. The venue amps the Italian vibe with music and dish names are in Italian.
Once you are seated, the waiter brings you a basket of various breads, from baguettes to breadsticks, to eat with a small side of diced tomatoes and a separate dish of olives.
I did expect to enjoy Italian dishes at Scalini, but I did not expect to have the best fried squid I ever had. The tender calamari rings, which is squid in Italian, were enveloped in a thin layer of light batter and came with a side of creamy and sour tartar sauce. The dish was not greasy or chewy at all and was perfectly complemented by the sauce.
Another interesting dish to try at the restaurant is the Tartare di Manzo, or beef tartare, which is part of their festive menu and will be served till January 7. The raw Australian beef angus comes with chives, shallots, Scalini’s mustard sauce, rockets and parmesan cheese. The waiter mixes the meat and the sauce right in front of your eyes, which makes this meal also entertaining. The fresh beef is supple with a fresh meaty, almost creamy flavor, which melts into the sourness of the tartare and the saltiness of the cheese.
For the mains, we ordered Spaghetti all’Astice, which is the restaurant’s signature dish cooked with lobster and tomato sauce. The perfectly cooked pasta is stuffed inside the lobster shell, which the waiter then moves to your dish for you to enjoy the flavorful and slightly spicy spaghetti.
However, one of our favorites was the Milanese, which is a breaded veal escalope on the bone. The tenderness and juiciness of the thinly pounded is a testimony to the cooking skills of the chefs at Scalini. You can literally cut through the meat as if you were cutting through butter. As a side, we also ordered broccoli, which were buttery garlicky goodness that was cooked but still crispy.
We concluded the meal with a delicious portion of the Semifreddo Pistachio. The creamy goodness of this dessert will satisfy your sweet tooth cravings with its balanced flavor and variety of textures. It looks like the Arabic halwa, and even has a similar flaky and creamy texture, which is complemented by the crispiness of the biscuit and the pistachio. This is exactly what you should order when you are not sure whether you want to go for a dessert or an ice cream.
Overall, the restaurant offers a cozy and warm venue with good Italian food.
DUBAI: This year has been tough on everyone, but for these celebrities and influencers it was a start of a new chapter: Marriage.
Nadya Hasan
Nadya Hasanon got married to model Wiktor Gniewek. (Instagram)
Dubai-based style icon Nadya Hasan tied the knot with her partner, model Wiktor Gniewek, in January, just before the strict COVID-19 regulations were imposed.
Kuwaiti fashion influencer Fouz Al-Fahad got married to Kuwaiti businessman Abdullatif Ahmed Abdullatif Al-Sarraf in March. In compliance with the rules back then, she only celebrated with family and her closest friends.
Mohammed Assaf
According to reports, the ceremony was held in Dubai. (AFP)
The “Arab Idol” star got married in an intimate wedding in August. According to reports, the bride, Reem Ouda, is Palestinian-Danish and the ceremony was held in Dubai.
Cynthia Abou Nasser
Abou Nasserwore a dazzling gown by Lebanese designer Rami Kadi. (Instagram)
The designer and style blogger tied the knot in September with her partner in Turkey. She wore a dazzling gown by Lebanese designer Rami Kadi.
Egyptian actor and singer Mohamed El Sharnouby tied the knot with Randa Riad in June. The ceremony, which was filmed for a music video in a tribute to his wife, was attended by family and close friends.
In the video, she steps out of a Cadillac Escalade wearing a white organza skirt, from the designer’s Fall/ Winter 2020-21 collection, which she paired with a top embellished with sequins and an off-white stole. She rocked a slicked back ponytail and showed off a shimmering makeup look.
Her second outfit in the video was a hot red, multi-layered strapless dress with ruffles. Her vintage wavy hairstyle and red pout were the perfect match and set the tone for the festive video.
The clip was filmed in Los Angeles and featured a giant Christmas tree and lavish decorations.
In just a few days, the song has crossed 10 million streams worldwide across all digital platforms, according to producers The Eleven.
This isn’t the first time Lopez has championed the couturier’s creations. Earlier this year, the singer wore elegant off-the-shoulder black gown by Hobeika for the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and before that, a cream-colored, backless gown encrusted with gems at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards.
Celebrities constantly turn to the Baskinta-born designer to dress them in his show-stopping creations for some of their most important events.
He has dressed stars including model Chrissy Teigen, rapper Cardi B, actress Vanessa Hudgens, Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra and many more.
It’s been a busy year for Lopez who, after serving as a muse for the makeup industry for decades, is now preparing for her new business venture: A long-awaited beauty line set to debut on Jan. 1, 2021.
The superstar will launch skincare products that she has been teasing for the past few months. Packaged in gold-colored bottles, her line will feature a serum, a mask, a sunscreen, a moisturizing cream, an eye cream, a cleanser and more.
