Sunday, May. 16, 1999

Ricky Martin bonus spurs brisk CD sales

Fans of Latin heartthrob snatch up CDs, calendars

By SYLVIA R. LONGORIA
Staff Writer

   All things "Star Wars" they're not. Nonetheless, they're indisputably hot.
   For starters, check out Ricky "Livin' La Vida Loca" Martin.
   Eight hours after his latest CD hit the stores Tuesday, Wherehouse Music in Gulfway Shopping Center found itself plucked clean of its coveted giveaway, a Ricky Martin calendar.
   Most walked. A few ran. Some called to inquire. And others begged.
   But by 4 p.m., the record store, which had by then rung up more than 100 Ricky Martin CD sales, had to break it to them gently.
   All gone.
   "Unfortunately, they went pretty fast," said store manager Paula Doty, who has had to politely say no to customers wanting to take home the store's only life-sized promotional cardboard display of Mr. Bomba himself.
   "It's been a very long time since the excitement has been this great," Doty noted, "and an extremely long time since a Latin artist crossed over this way into English pop music."
   One of those spotted early Thursday afternoon purchasing her personal piece of Ricky-mania was three-time Tejano Music Awards winner Jennifer Pena, Doty said. But not even Jennifer could get her hands on a calendar.

Fruit line

   Customers are also lining up at La Paletera in south Corpus Christi for fruit concoctions. If you'll recall, the original store scored instant success when it opened two years ago on Kostoryz Road. Now co-owners Emerita Salazar and Jimmy Garcia have another hit on their hands, this one at 2322 Airline Road.
   The wait at the drive-through window is sometimes as much as eight or 10 cars deep. But rare are the customers who bolt from the line because of delays, 16-year-old Katie Chachere says.
   Katie, a King High School cheerleader, and her sister, Hollie, 15, have frequented La Paletera since its debut last year. Now it's a popular hangout for many of King's cheerleaders.
   Katie likes her fruit cups loaded with lime, chili powder and whipped cream. "We still like our fatty french fries and onion rings," her sister chimed in. "But this is much healthier for you, different and inexpensive."
   Their secret to success, Garcia said, is simple: "We offer the best quality foods at all times."
   Not enough said for some. Garcia has actually caught folks digging into the store's trash for seasoning packets and containers, anything that will divulge La Paletera's winning formula.
   Garcia and Salazar said they plan to open a manufacturing plant behind their Kostoryz store next month. Then they'll begin wholesaling La Paletera products to vendors, including one at San Antonio's Riverwalk.
   "We must be doing something right if the people keep coming back for more," says Garcia.

Getting in-line

   And finally, about the trendiest way to pick up that CD or fruity freeze these days is on a pair of in-line skates.
   "It used to be that people stayed along the bayfront to skate," said Jonathan Lee, 19, "But now they're spreading out. (In-line skating) started catching on here a few years ago, but they're just now getting noticed."
   Serious skaters look for extra features, like grind plates necessary for jumping curbs and rails, said Lee, the skateboard buyer for MD Surf & Skate. "Sometimes we get older people in their 40s looking for the traditional roller skates or quads. Those are obsolete.
   "They're just not happenin'."
   Sylvia R. Longoria can be reached at 886-3718 or by e-mail at longorias@caller.com