ACCENT Speakers Bureau is proud to partner with Hispanic Heritage Month as the collaborating student organizations welcome music artist, business entrepreneur and motivational speaker Pitbull to speak at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on October 2. Doors will open at 7:05 p.m. and the speaking engagement will begin at 7:45 p.m. Students with a valid Gator-1 ID may pick up a maximum of two tickets free of charge from the Student Government suite in the J. Wayne Reitz Union on Friday, Sept. 28 and Monday, Oct. 1 from 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. If any tickets remain, they will be made available to the general public at the Phillips Center Box Office at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
Miami native Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, otherwise known as Mr. Worldwide, began his music career with his first full-length album M.I.A.M.I. in 2004. After paving his path to success with the release of albums such as El Mariel, The Boatlift and Armando, Pitbull became a global star with the release of 2011’s Planet Pit, which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 list. Planet Pit spawned the anthem “Give Me Everything” (ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer), which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 list, went RIAA quintuple-platinum and became known as one of the “best-selling singles of all time.” In 2013, Pitbull released the Meltdown EP and gave the world the six-time platinum, #1 Billboard hit “Timber” (ft. Ke$ha). In total, Pitbull has released 10 full-length albums, including Climate Change – plus his first-ever Greatest Hits.
Pitbull’s success is not only built on his music, but also his plethora of entertainment business ventures. The entrepreneur has invested in his own brand of vodka named Voli 305 Vodka, a self-titled fragrance line and the restaurant and nightlife concept iLov305 on Ocean Drive in his hometown Miami. He has his own channel on SiriusXM called Globalization (ch. 13), has signed on to write and perform an original song for the STX UglyDolls movie and will lend his voice talent to one of the characters. He has completed multiple runs of his Las Vegas residency “Time of Our Lives” at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s newly renamed Zappos Theater. The music artist was also named “Godfather” to the Norwegian Escape by the Norwegian Cruise Line.
Perhaps Pitbull’s most important accomplishments involve his work as a philanthropist. Pitbull serves as an ambassador to the Sports Leadership Arts and Management (SLAM!) charter schools that he established to encourage quality education. Launched in Miami’s Little Havana, SLAM! now has expanded to include schools in Las Vegas and West Palm Beach. Pitbull initially pursued his music career after he was inspired by one of his high school teachers, so he highly values the impact of education on one’s life. SLAM! recently announced its first student-run national radio broadcast which is planning to launch in 2018.
