Leo Messi was the international figure that Miami needed to complete the puzzle as the Mecca for Latino celebrities. He was for years, but the arrival of the undisputed No. 1 of a sport that is already a force in the US, marks the last star of a dazzling firmament. Along with him, his former teammates from FC Barcelona Sergi Busquets and Jordi Alba have landed: the three have joined the ranks of Inter Miami, a club created by David Beckham, the epitome of glamor in the king of sports.
Two other kings, of basketball and American football, are linked to the capital of the state of Florida. LeBron James left Miami as his city of residence when he signed for the Los Angeles Lakers, but not as a place to return to: in fact, last October he bought a luxury apartment in the Estates and Acqualina tower, in Sunny Islands, the same prohibitive neighborhood chosen by Leo Messi. The other is Tom Brady, the NFL's winningest quarterback who finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Florida).
The other great media claim in recent weeks is Shakira: the most universal Latin singer settled in early April with her two children, Milan and Sasha, after a long, thorny and complicated separation process from Gerard Piqué. She owns a superb house on North Bay Road Drive (Miami Beach), she has already lived in the area for many years and she knows that the entire music industry in Spanish with a vocation to be international inevitably passes through those geographical coordinates. But when Shakira still couldn't speak, the equivalent of Messi in the Spanish song was the first visionary.
Julio Iglesias acquired several farms in today's highly valued Indian Creek, where he has one of his main residences; in fact, he recently closed a terrific deal selling land to Ivanka Trump. Models Gisele Bundchen, Elle McPherson, Karlie Kloss, Adriana Lima and… Enrique Iglesias have landed in the 35 plots of Indian Creek, possibly the most exclusive development in the US.
From Miami, he has projected his music on the Spanish-speaking universe and, although he will never reach the figures of his father, he can boast of a successful career and a very discreet life: we have learned that he married due to an indiscretion of his brother, Julio José, whose slips are priceless material for the tabloids. With Ricky Martin and Pitbull – another Miami-based electro-Latin star – they will star in the Trilogy Tour in 19 North American cities this fall.
Gloria and Emilio Estefan, the most influential couple in Latin music, have always been residents of the city. They were both born in Cuba, –she in Havana and he, in Santiago– but they began their legend with, precisely, the Miami Sound Machine group. Finally, we cannot close this list without mentioning Jennifer López: although she sold her fabulous house in Miami when she broke up with Álex Rodríguez, she continues to return often, taking her new husband, Ben Affleck, with her.
Actually, the list of celebrities who live permanently in Miami or who have their second residence there is very long: Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson, Sylvester Stallone, Pharrell Williams, Tommy Hilfiger, Lenny Kravitz, Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Grande and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, to name some of the most relevant.
