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Ms. Shanti Lowry – Pussycat Doll – Actress – Dancer

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I've been a fan of Shanti for some time.  Besides singing at the top of my lungs to the Pussycat Dolls, I also love her work in TV.  Specifically, "The Closer", which is one of my all time favorite shows ever!  Charming, sweet and down to earth...talking to Shanti absolutly made my morning!

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Emmy nominated actress, producer, dancer, and singer Shanti Lowry seemed destined for the spotlight. Despite escaping a childhood of poverty and abuse, she chose to visualize a greater life for herself and found solace in pretending to be other people.

Her first shot at performing came around at the age of 10, when she auditioned and booked a role in a play after seeing a casting call in the local paper. Six years later Shanti took part in a dance competition in Boulder that saw her win the grand prize of a dance agent in Los Angeles. Seeing it as fate, she packed her bags and moved west to pursue her dream. It didn't take long for her to find success, booking the Earth, Wind and Fire international tour at the age of 17 and Chaka Khan's regional tour (choreographed by Debbie Allen) just a year later.

After booking various music videos with hit artists (N*SYNC, Diddy, and Puff Daddy), and even being one of the original members of The Pussycat Dolls, Shanti decided to take her talents to the screen and begin her journey as an actress. She found success with roles in shows such as NYPD Blue, Girlfriends, The Closer, Don't Trust the B-in Apartment 23, The Game, School of Rock, Murder in the First, Uncle Buck, Kingdom, Code Black, Bronx SIU (Emmy nominated for the role of Yolanda), and several others.

Shanti's latest work is a leading role in the upcoming feature film PERSONA, a thriller about two women trapped in a house who must work together in order to escape. The project is particularly unique as it was comprised of 75% BIPOC, and 50% women for its cast and crew. Apart from starring in the film, Shanti also served as an executive producer, spearheaded casting, assisted with costume design, and worked closely with the writer find emotional layers to create complex female characters. Shanti also did the final cut of the script and served as prep and post director.

When not starring on the screen, Shanti enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, staying in shape with CrossFit, participating in contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, or heels dance classes, and practicing self-care. She's also an avid supporter of The Dove Project, Women for Women International, and Amnesty International.

ABOUT PERSONA

A woman wakes up locked in a house, injured with no memory. She's terrified and a little relieved to find a woman bound in another room. These 2 strangers must work together to figure out what's really going on before the door is unlocked.

 

Here's the trailer: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnC4zZOUlpI

 

Mr. T.J. English – Author – Truest of Crime

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Getting to chat with T.J. is always a treat.  This book, "The Last Kilo" is a first hand account, from one Willy Falcon himself, that T.J. has masterfully put together in book form.

ABOUT THE LAST KILO

Despite what Scarface might lead one to believe, violence was not the dominant characteristic of the cocaine business. It was corruption: the dirty cops, agents, lawyers, judges, and politicians who made the drug world go round. And no one managed that carousel of dangerous players better than Willy Falcon.

A Cuban exile whose family escaped Fidel Castro's Cuba when he was eleven years old, Falcon, as a teenager, became active in the anti-Castro movement. He began smuggling cocaine into the U.S. as a way to raise money to buy arms for the Contras in Central America. This counter-revolutionary activity led directly to Willy's genesis as a narco. He and his partners built an extraordinary international organization from the ground up. Los Muchachos, the syndicate founded by Falcon, thrived as a major cocaine distribution network in the U.S. from the late 1970's into the early 1990's. At their height, Los Muchachos made more than a hundred million dollars a year. At the same time, Willy, his brother Tavy Falcon, and partner Sal Magluta became famous as championship powerboat racers.

Cocaine, used by everyone from A-list celebrities to lawyers and people in law enforcement, came to define an era, and for a time, Willy Falcon and those like him-major suppliers, of whom there were only a few-became stars in their own right. They were the deliverers of good times, at least until the downside of persistent cocaine use became apparent: delusions of grandeur, psychological addiction, financial ruin. Thus, the War on Drugs was born, and federal authorities came after Falcon and his crew with a vengeance. Willy found himself on the run, his marriage and family life in shambles, the halcyon days of boat races and lavish trips to Vegas and parties at the Mutiny night club seemingly a distant memory.

T.J. English has been granted unprecedented access to the inner workings of Los Muchachos, sitting down with Willy Falcon and his associates for many lengthy interviews, and revealing never-before-understood details about drug trafficking. A classic of true-crime writing from a master of the genre, The Last Kilotraces the rise and fall of a true cocaine empire-and the lives left in its wake.

 

ABOUT T.J. ENGLISH

T.J. English is a noted journalist and author of the New York Timesbestsellers Havana Nocturne, Paddy Whacked, The Savage Cityand Where the Bodies Were Buried. He also authored The Westies, a national bestseller; Born to Kill, which was nominated for an Edgar Award; and The Corporation. His journalism has appeared in Esquire, Vanity Fair, Playboy and New York magazine, among other publications. He lives in New York City.