Photos: L ©2008 Bizuayehu Tesfaye R 2008 Sally Collison
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Tue, 13 May 2008 20:15:00 UTC
“Is she here yet?”
In the headsets around the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the airwaves were crackling with just one question.
Yes, the world’s third biggest sportswear and lifestyle company was about to unveil ‘il mostro’ – the Volvo 70 beast designed to look like a trainer and looking cooler than the fridge in Alaska, but ‘was she here yet?’ was the thought on everyone’s minds.
The ‘she’ in question? Hollywood goddess Salma Hayek. And she is officially a goddess – just ask the Mexican film critics, who awarded her the Special Silver Goddess award in 2003.
And then she was. Having braved the gale force winds in her private jet that had caused flights to be cancelled at Boston’s Logan Airport, the pint-sized siren arrived at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and prepared for her latest role – that of Godmother to the Puma boat.
As she recovered from the journey flunkies flustered and bodyguards blustered. The waiting crowds chomped on their canapés and sipped their champagne. In the end, it took a Volvo Ocean Race veteran to cut through the Hollywood hullaballoo and ask the question “Are you a leftie or a righty?”
It was an act of genius to give the role of Salma’s minder to Jerry Kirby. The only sailor cooler than the boat, Jerry decided to cut to the chase and just talk to the stunning star of ‘Desperado’, ‘Till Dusk to Dawn’ and the Oscar-nominated ‘Frieda’. And Salma responded in kind. Apparently, she shoots arrows with her left hand and writes with her right. She could crack champagne on a boat any which way.
So the videos rolled, the guests braved the bitter cold and 50 mph wind, and the scene was set. With hair done and designer clothes in place, the star took to the catwalk down to the boat. Jerry was ready.
Salma joined him and the pair set off to booming anthems and a voiceover artist, and I use the term advisedly, who was trying to sound more like God than God himself. I know this is true, as yes; it was me, trying desperately to crane my neck over the throng to catch a glimpse of Hollywood while maintaining my professional cool – and failing miserably.
The Puma sailing team unveiled the boat and stood by in a line of honour as she approached the craft. The champagne was passed over and with an almighty swing the bottle struck ‘Il mostro’. Nothing happened. “Jerry? Where’s my Jerry?” went up the cry from Salma, and there was the 52-year-old self-confessed oldest bowman in town at her side, and together they broke the bottle on the bow and the moment, and the boat’s luck, was saved.
Before the event a platoon of publicists had given a list of all the things Salma would not do. Happily, no one had given that list to Salma herself, and in the company of Puma Chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz, she posed for pictures, spoke to the press, checked out the Puma Sailing Collection and eventually returned to her car and the airport.
The atmosphere afterwards was a bit like a three-day-old balloon. But soon everyone was re-inflated and reflecting on their evening with Salma.
OK, what you really want to know. Like nearly all famous people, she’s smaller than you expect – not many people can wear heels that high on a pontoon. She is even prettier in real life than she is on film – that’s REALLY pretty. And perhaps Jerry put it best “She’s a nice lady, a real nice lady.”
You can watch hours of race video at www.VolvoOceanRace.tv, the official Race TV channel for free!
- Guy Swindells
Related story: A Touch of Hollywood
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