Oh Ricky!

WINNIPEG -- Everything about Ricky Martin is big time.

 He's got a big band and they put on a big show with enough lights to compete for attention on the Las Vegas strip.

 It's enough to make you think the suave Puerto Rican entertainer is trying to make up for the fact he's only had three hits in the English-speaking world.

 But all the numbers add up for Martin.

 Ricky takes all the disparate elements of his celebrity -- exotic Latin roots, pop-star good looks, sultry dance moves and years of experience as a performer -- and blends them into a sinuous whole that's a little bit Latin, a little bit rock 'n' roll and a whole lot of fun.

 And it seemed that fun was what most of the 12,500 souls at the Winnipeg Arena were having last night.

 From the moment those swivelling hips hit stage, bumping and grinding on top of a silver Mustang as he sang his breakthough hit Livin' la Vida Loca, there was nary a quiet throat in the house.

 And why not?

 Loca was such a staggering production number, replete with moving catwalks, swirling go-go dancers and that Mustang on a turntable that it was hard not to be amazed -- or at least dazzled -- by its power and energy. And when Martin sang "woke up in Manitoba" as part of the tune, the song was briefly drowned out by the roar of the Arena crowd.

 When "the crazy life" was over, just about everyone was ready for a breather, but not Ricky. He hurtled straight into Love You For A Day before stopping to be adored in the spotlights which bathed him constantly.

 "I'm here to give you some of my soul on stage tonight," he said.

 "I hope you give us some of yours."

 A roar of approval, of course, was the only proper response and with that ringing in his ears, Ricky was off again, jiving those famous hips through Bon Bon de Azucar, then slowing down briefly for a sit-down rendition of Vuelve, the hit single from his last Spanish album.

 Spanish Eyes brought the first of the night's five costume changes for the star, as he exchanged a knit see-through black shirt for a tight-cropped white number.

 For a while, actually, it looked as though Martin's costume changes would be the highlight of the mid-portion of his show.

 Slower, mid-tempo material, such as Marcia Baila and Private Emotion, a rather insipid duet, seemed to lose the crowd for a moment, but with two of his hits to come and a band as taut and fluid as his, it was only a matter of time before Ricky hit high gear again.

 That was indeed the case as Shake Your Bon Bon, his current hit, brought the crowd to its feet -- as much for his lithe male and female dancers as for him, admittedly.

 But it was Ricky himself who had the rafters literally shaking at Maroons Road when he led the crowd through a call-and-response dance number which featured 24,000 arms waving simultaneously while Martin and his band pounded out a tremendously percussive salsa beat.

 As confetti fell on the revelling concert-goers, Martin bade Winnipeg a heartfelt farewell as his band carried on with Maria, his main-set finale. But he wasn't done yet, returning to jam on timpanis with one of his drummers (yes, he has two) before dropping the house lights to reset his stage for the encore.

 And what an encore.

 Martin's spaceship-style stage set lit up to reveal the singer lounging barefoot on a couch that rose from midstage, where he sang his ballad She's All I Ever Had before launching into La Copa de la Vida (The Cup of Life).

 This last was the song which launched Rickymania on the 1999 Grammy show.

 It continued the phenomenon last night at the Arena.

 Continued it big time.