It’s pretty obvious that Vida Guerra isn’t a big fan of The Game. Perhaps she still has hard feelings about his song “Wouldn’t Get Far,” where the West Coast rapper refers to her as someone who would do anything to get near a rap star. In reality though, Vida’s shots are anything but cheap. For the right price, her infamous ample buttocks will grace the cover of magazines; and she can be spotted in a number of Hip-Hop videos, Bacardi billboard ads and starring in her own DVD. Whether you like her or not, you have to admit, she knows how to run a business. Her business.
Getting to know the self-proclaimed pin-up model is quite a task, considering the multiple conflicting opinions. After escaping Cuba as a child and growing up in Jersey, Vida’s family worked to inspire traditional values and a career “like a doctor or lawyer.” After convincing her parents that modeling was merely a foot in the door, 27-year old Vida is now trying to get her fans to see beyond the booty and focus on her acting and musical talents. She is ambitious and, dare we say, smart, which makes us wonder whether we’ve underestimated the power of Vida Guerra.
We sat down with Vida speak about a multitude of things, including her beef with FHM Magazine, her true thoughts on The Game, and those rumors of her rap career.
AllHipHop.com Alternatives: When you got into modeling, did you think it would lead to so many opportunities?
Vida Guerra: Not at first. The first time it was just to do it, you know? It was an opportunity that was given to me and I said, “Ok let me just do this.” But after the response was so big I thought I could use this as a stepping stone to do all the other things I dreamt of doing, but never thought it was possible because my parents were a little pessimistic; especially coming from another country. It’s a really hard business to get into, and not a lot of people are lucky at it. I know other models and they don’t get the opportunities that I’ve gotten. I just feel so blessed and lucky. And I don’t question it either. I appreciate it and keep moving forward.
AHHA: So your parents were strict?
Vida: Oh, my parents were so strict. I was in my 20’s when I first appeared in FHM. My father flipped out on me. He couldn’t believe I was in a g-string and all these men were going to look at me in a sexual kind of way. But he knows how they raised me, and he knows I will always conduct myself in a classy way. A woman’s body, I think, is beautiful; and if it’s [a photo spread] done properly it can be a beautiful thing and not something with your legs spread open!
AHHA: How did you get around the whole parent / family thing?
Vida: They saw that I was serious about it. and I told them this was an opportunity for me to do other things that I wanted to do. Now my dad is my biggest fan.
AHHA: Does he see all the stuff that you do?
Vida: Yeah. He sees all the stuff. He didn’t see Playboy but he knows I did Playboy.
AHHA: What made you send your picture in the first place for the FHM amateur competition?
Vida: I didn’t send the picture in. My ex-boyfriend and his friends sent the pictures in. They pushed me. The first day they told me to do it and I said ok, but I never did it. So they did it.
AHHA: What happened when you got the call back? Were you shocked?
Vida: We sent them in March and I got the call in late August. It had been a long time. I did the shoot but I noticed the people at FHM weren’t really paying any attention to me. But then the issue came out and everyone was like, “Who is this girl Vida?” They wanted to know more and more about me. So they called me, after it hit newsstands, to do another shoot with them. They didn’t want to give me a cover at first. They said I wasn’t a big enough celebrity or name to give me a cover, but the pictures turned out really well and they took the chance. It was the best selling cover for that year. But right now I’m really upset with [FHM].
AHHA: Why? You’re on the cover now!
Vida: That’s why I’m upset with them. So check this out – I couldn’t tell them that I had done Playboy because I had signed a contract with my attorney and I couldn’t tell any media that I had done Playboy until the issue came out. [Meanwhile] FHM kept harassing me to do the issue so I finally called my attorney and said, “Playboy has to give me an amendment to the contract so I can tell FHM because they are really on my back to do another issue.” I didn’t know what to say to them [FHM] because they wouldn’t understand why I wouldn’t want another cover. So Playboy agreed. I told FHM and they were really upset with me. They were upset that I did Playboy.
AHHA: Why don’t they want you to do Playboy?
Vida: Because they are competitors. When I first came out I did a model release form. I didn’t know at that time because I didn’t have an attorney. They locked me into one year and I wasn’t able to do any other magazines. Anyway, I was supposed to get the October issue but it never came out. Janet Jackson was on the cover. I thought it was kind of odd. And then they called and said they were going to give me the January / February ‘07 issue. It’s a double cover issue. And [they said] it was going to be really big because it stays on newsstands longer. They were supposed to send me a copy and they never did.
Then we went to the store to buy a copy and I’m like, “What the heck is going on?” You tell me if this is my butt? They cut off my thighs and I love my thighs. I’m Latin. I’m curvy. And where is the crease on my booty? Is that my waist? Really, it’s only a reflection on them because I have my DVD and you know you can’t airbrush DVD so you see my real body and the way it is.
AHHA: Do you think fans will be able to see beyond the pictures?
Vida: Yes. [They will be able to see] beyond the pictures and the sexy. They will get to see more than a picture. The fans want to know who I am. They get to see [on the DVD] the photo shoots that I have had. This is raw footage.
AHHA: Have you ever been put in a compromising position in your career? Or has there ever been a time where you felt uncomfortable on a shoot or video?
Vida: I have never [felt uncomfortable]. I have been blessed. This is where video girls get a bad reputation. And why people like The Game write songs about people. Some girls think they have to do certain things in order to get recognized or be the lead in a music video. My dream was never to do a music video besides my own. But they call me up and say, “The artist is requesting Vida to be in the video. We’re going to pay X amount of dollars.” I’m getting paid to do this. This is something I want to do down the road for myself so this is great experience. And it worked. I shot my music video and they would do the scenes in one take. I’ve gotten opportunities and I could have gone the other way, but that isn’t the way my parents raised me. If something is meant for me, it’s going to happen to me regardless.
AHHA: What happened with the record label that you were signed to? Apparently you were dropped? Why?
Vida: This guy from Flash Records, who is a nobody, decides he wants to sign me to a record label. So I get this contract and spend $3000 to have my attorney review it. It was b#######. He didn’t have financial backing or anything but he just wanted to say he had Vida. I never signed the record deal. So then when my phone was hacked and the [nude] pictures were put on the internet, he went around saying that he dropped me and tried to capitalize on that press I was getting at that moment. I was never signed to him!
AHHA: Why didn’t you go nude before Playboy, considering you are semi-nude in most pictures anyway? Why did it take the nude pictures from your phone for you to go all the way?
Vida: I had been asked twice before. I never felt like I had to do it. A lot of people feel they have to do it to launch their career. At that point, people already knew who I was so why do I have to take everything off? The reason why I did it was because of what happened with those pictures. Some of the pictures were mine and some weren’t. So I thought if everyone is making such a big deal about it, I’m going to do it but in a classy way with a classy magazine. And of course the money was absolutely perfect for me to do it.
AHHA: Are you comfortable nude?
Vida: Yeah. I walk around nude in my house.
AHHA: Would you do full-frontal nudity on camera?
Vida: When I did Playboy, I was able to pose how I wanted to pose and able to show what I wanted to show. Film is something different. We were watching Havoc last week and Anne Hathaway and I wondered if I would do that. Jennifer Lopez did Out Of Sight. It would have to be the right role. It wouldn’t even have to be about money; it would have to be something that that’s going to sky-rocket me to another level as far as people having respect for me.
AHHA: What’s this about you rapping?
Vida: Yes. I call it more of a sexy flow. It’s the new style that people like Fergie are doing. They are singing and rapping. I wouldn’t say rapping like 50 Cent or Nas or that kind of rap.
AHHA: What’s your favorite Sex & the City character?
Vida: Oh my God! I’m so glad you asked me that question. I have a lot of Carrie and a lot of Charlotte in me.
AHHA: Top beauty secret?
Vida: Ok ladies, cut your hair on February 2nd and it will grow a lot. And it will be healthy and strong. You can just cut the tips. It’s a weird Cuban thing but it really works.
AHHA: Bikini or Brazilian?
Vida: Brazilian is everything off right? No, I have a bikini. I get laser hair removal.
AHHA: What’s the corniest pick-up line someone has used on you?
Vida: I guess The Game when he said: “Let’s hang out…what… are you scared of me or something?” [laughs]