UPDATE
A month after pop icon Madonna announced the launch of her new chain of gyms—Hard Candy Fitness, Monday saw the diva open her first branch in Ciudad de México, but the borough chief where she opened Hard Candy Fitness said Wednesday that the singer’s fitness center does not have the proper permits to operate.
Demetrio Sodi, an authority of the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, said Madonna’s gym obtained a permit for the posh inauguration party held on Monday night, but lacks every other other permit necessary to open.
“They only let us know Friday that they were going to have an inauguration, and when we had a meeting, they didn’t have a single permit ... to operate,” Sodi said. “No protection program, no license, not even a certificate assuring they have parking.”
“If they don’t have a land use permit, they will not be able to operate,” Sodi told Televisa reporters.
Madonna, 52, walked a red carpet and using a hefty pair of red scissors cut the ribbon herself.
Hard Candy, which is also the name of the star’s 11th studio album, is a combination of the phrases “hard body” and “eye candy,” Madonna explained in a questions session after the inauguration ceremony.
“It’s a sexy name that gives you the opportunity to have fun and to build strength as far as the imagination will allow,” she said.
Following the red carpet events, Madonna hand picked 20 members, and gave them a personalized aerobics class.
