It's Good to be Jesus
It's been quite a ride for Jesus Luz, the Brazilian model most famous for serving as Madonna's arm candy since the two met in Rio last December (and bonded over their shared enthusiasm for Kabbalah, apparently). A year ago Luz was making $500 a day as a model. These days—and like several other people better known for their connections/last names, not their musical abilities)—Luz collects a tidy sum to spin at clubs around town, and his modeling career has been given a big boost as well:
The months since have been a study in ascension. Mr. Luz signed with Ford Models in New York, escorted Madonna to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Ball in the spring and appeared on the runway for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan.
He enrolled at a D.J. school in Manhattan and in no time has landed high-profile gigs. For the 90-minute set he was spinning Nov. 12, only his second professional D.J. outing in the city, he was being paid around $15,000, said Matthew Isaacs, a promoter who had booked him, at a lower cost, to spin two nights later at Hiro in the meatpacking district.
Mr. Luz is hot, and he is enjoying it.
"I love the energy of the crowd," he said, stepping away from the D.J. stand to pose for photos with admiring female fans. "It's good to have two careers going on, modeling and D.J.ing. I feel good."
Thankfully, the Times answers the one burning question that has remained unanswered up until now, one that still confounds his friends, apparently: How do you even pronounce his name?
Before Mr. Luz, muscular and curly haired with piercing blue eyes, returned to the laptop and mixing board, he explained the proper way to say his first and last names: "Zhay-ZOOSE. Loose."
