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Juanes and Shakira cast giant shadows over Colombian music scene
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Shakira arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
With his Sunday concert in Havana making musical history, Juanes is likely to become even bigger than he already is among Latin artists.
He and fellow Colombian Shakira have dominated the Latin music scene for most of this decade, winning 24 Latin Grammy awards between them.
“I’ll tell you what the problem with Shakira and Juanes is,” Colombian music executive Toño Castillo recently told a group of visiting American journalists. “Juanes and Shakira compete with the guys who are [just] starting here… They win everything. So it’s very difficult for the [new] artists.”
Castillo is a creative advisor for Peermusic, a music publishing company which started more than 80 years ago in Bristol, Tenn. The firm has had a substantial presence in the Latin music scene for generations.
“He’s so popular,” Castillo said of Juanes. “I think he’s the top Latin artist in the world… He’s a very nice guy and he helps a lot of people, the same with Shakira. She has a foundation here called Pies Descalzos [Barefoot].”
Artists give back to Colombia
Pies Descalzos was the name of the album that catapulted Shakira to international stardom in 1995. It was a reference to poverty the poverty Shakira witnessed growing up in Baranquilla, where some people were so poor they couldn’t even afford shoes. That same year, she started the Pies Descalzos foundation, which focuses on improving educational opportunities for underprivileged people. The organization opened its fifth school in Colombia earlier this year, in Baranquilla.
“She gave them computers, books, school… everything,” Castillo noted. “She’s very nice. I had the pleasure to work with her on [Pies Descalzos].”
Castillo produced the album (see a photo of him with Shakira here), which led to what Castillo called the worst mistake of his life.
“She asked me if I would be her partner, and I said no,” he recalled. “She’s going to be big forever.”
Unlike Shakira, Juanes has not achieved popularity among non-Spanish speakers. He has performed in English only sparingly, including a duet with John Legend during the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Like Shakira, Juanes is involved in charitable work. He established the Mi Sangre [My Blood] Foundation to help victims of land mines in Colombia. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2005. The following year, his contributions helped make possible construction of a new park in his hometown of Medellin, designed primarily for the rehabilitation of children injured by land mines.
Shakira on the cover of her latest CD, "She Wolf." (AP Photo/Sony BMG)
Surprising heavy metal connections
While Shakira’s music is influenced by both her Latin and Lebanese heritage (hence her famous belly dancing videos), Juanes performs a fusion of traditional Colombian rhythms with rock and even heavy metal. Metallica is frequently cited as one of his primary influences, and he started his musical career with a heavy metal band called Ekhymosis. One reason for this expression of the darker side of his personality was the childhood losses of his father (to cancer), a cousin (kidnapped and executed), and a friend (killed by gunmen).
Juanes was born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez. His father combined his first two names, calling him Juanes.
Shakira was born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll. Her father is Lebanese, and her name means “thankful” in Arabic.
Shakira has listed John Lennon as her primary musical influence. Like Juanes, she also grew up listening to heavy metal bands like AC/DC and Scorpions. Now, she and Juanes are influencing the next generation of Colombian artists, something we’ll learn more about in an upcoming story.
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