The Colombian Juanes claimed in an interview with EFE, hours before performing at the Viña del Mar International Festival, the great contribution that the Latino community has made to the United States, while acknowledging that it is “very hard” to see how migrants are being treated by the Administration of Donald Trump.
“The vast majority of immigrants have been very judicious people who have worked hard and have given a lot to the United States (…) Obviously, of course, there are other minimal segments that have done what they have done, but I think the vast majority are not bad people,” said the multi-award-winning singer from Medellin.
Juanes (1972), who this Wednesday will take the stage in Viña del Mar for the fourth time in his career, said that the migrant raids ordered by Trump have made the Latino community in the United States go through “very difficult” situations, a country that is the power it is today thanks to the “mix of cultures” and “all the people who have arrived”.
“I arrived in the United States in 1996 and today it’s like a different world,” said the artist, who lives in Miami with his wife and three children.
The country two decades ago “was a place where you could feel very safe in a way, but September 11 came and changed everything and then the 2008 crisis and Covid,” added the star, who this week in Miami picked up his first ‘Premio Lo Nuestro a la Trayectoria’ with a T-shirt with the slogan “Aquí se habla español” (Spanish is spoken here).
Winner of 29 GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY awards and recently recognized by Billboard as ‘The Best Latin Rock/Pop Artist of the 21st Century’, Juanes arrives in Viña del Mar days after announcing an international tour starting in May and his latest album, ‘JuanesTeban’.
Juanes wants to support immigrants with new album
In his new production, which was co-produced by himself and Argentine Nico Cotton and will be released on March 6, the Colombian artist combines lyrics full of optimism and joy with moments of deep emotional vulnerability, in a mix of cumbia and rock.
The tour, which will include more than 50 performances around the world and in which he will perform his classics and new songs, will once again bring together thousands of fans from different generations, which the star considers “an immense honor”.
“That is a miracle of music, that songs are passed from generation to generation. I realize it when (at the concerts) my grandfather, my son, my father go, I see my friends…. That fills me with great emotion, I never imagined it could happen”, declared the author of famous songs such as ‘A dios le pido’ or ‘La camisa negra’.
Despite decades of artistic career, Juanes believes that today he is “much more prepared for everything, for singing, playing the guitar, for the show”.
“We’ve learned how to understand people from the stage and how to manage a show that flows. It’s something I can’t describe to you, it’s beautiful,” he stated.
The artist will open this Wednesday the fourth day of the 65th Viña del Mar International Festival, the most important music event in Latin America, where he has already performed in 2003, 2005 and 2009.
“One day, talking to Joaquín Sabina, he told me that he was waiting to do his best song. His best song has not yet arrived. To me that makes me feel alive, it gives me a purpose in music,” he concluded, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
