Juanes, “Immigrants have worked hard and have given a lot to the United States”

Viña del Mar.- Colombian Juanes claimed in an interview with EFE, during his participation in the Viña del Mar International Festival, the great contribution that the Latin community has made to the United States, while acknowledging that it is “very hard” to see how migrants are being treated by the Donald Trump Administration. «The vast majority of immigrants have been very sensible 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 award-winning singer from Medellin.

Two Decades in the United States

Juanes (1972), who performed for the fourth time in his career on the Viña del Mar stage, indicated 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 “mixture of cultures” and “all the people who have arrived”.

We recommend reading:Juanes will receive the Lo Nuestro Award for Trajectory and expresses his love for RD

“I arrived in the United States in ’96 and today it’s like another different world,” reflected the artist, who resides in Miami with his wife and three children. The country of two decades ago “was a place where you could feel very safe in a way, but September 11th came and changed everything and, then, the 2008 crisis and Covid”, added the star, who this week received in Miami her first ‘Premio Lo Nuestro a la Trayectoria’ with a t-shirt with the slogan “Spanish is spoken here”.

Intergenerational Artist

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’. In his new production, which was co-produced by himself and the Argentinian Nico Cotton and will be released on March 6th, 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 she will perform her classics and her 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 pass from generation to generation. I realize it when (to the concerts) go the grandfather, the son, the father, I see the friends… That fills me with a lot of emotion, I never imagined that it could happen», declared the author of famous songs like ‘A dios le pido’ or ‘La camisa negra’.

A Purpose in Music

Despite having decades of artistic career, Juanes believes that today he is “much more prepared for everything, to sing, play the guitar, for the show.” “We have learned to understand people from the stage and how to manage a show that flows. It’s something I can’t describe, it’s beautiful,” he declared.

Tam

The artist led the fourth day of the 65th Viña del Mar International Festival, the most important music contest in Latin America and in which he already performed in 2003, 2005 and 2009. “One day, talking to Joaquín Sabina, he told me that he was waiting to write his best song. His best song hasn’t arrived yet. That makes me feel alive, it gives me a purpose in music,” he concluded.