Juanes On The Wall

Juanes on the wall. I refer not to a Facebook wall but to the New World Symphony wall, which faces Soundscape Park. This Columbian rocker played for 700 adoring handpicked fans on Feb.1st, at this high-tech Miami Beach concert Hall. Weather and conditions permitting, the activity in the hall is projected on the wall. Locals and tourists who couldn't get in, hung out in the park waiting to catch glimpses of Juanes on the wall.

To illustrate how dedicated his fans are, two sisters, who won tickets in an online promotion, drove three hours from Port St. Lucie for the show and drove back in time for school the next morning. “The fact that we got to see him live and be part of an MTV Unplugged is incredible” these girls enthused.

When Juanes’ was seven years old in Medellin, Columbia, his father and brothers began to teach him how to play guitar. His passion for the instrument led him to diverse genres of music such as traditional Latin sounds like tango and bachata, as well as Colombian folk music.

 In 1988, he started his first band. It experienced commercial success in Colombia but had difficulty achieving popularity outside of the country. However, when Juanes released his solo debut album, ‘Fíjate Bien’ in 2000, it earned him three Latin Grammys. His next album, ‘Un Dia Normal’, was certified platinum throughout Latin America. He then scored with a hot single, ‘Mi Sangre’, in his third album ‘La Camisa Negra’. (See video at end of column). Since then, he has released ’La Vida Es Un Ratio’ in 2007 and ‘P.A.R.C.E.’ in 2010.

Juanes performed his first ever acoustic concert and a live recording session at NWS. He has never before recorded in such a stripped down setting with his voice so exposed. In the past he has played in front of crowds of thousands and even hundred of thousands. Here at the New World, performing in front of a very intimate audience of 700 gave him a slight case of nerves.

The project’s musical director, Juan Luis Guerra, himself a major Latin music star and accomplished songwriter, was the producer for  this MTV Unplugged album & DVD. These are set to be released in late May and will include three new songs and several stripped down versions of Juanes’ hits. 

This production is also a first for for MTV network’s Lincoln Rd. based US Hispanic channel Tr3s, MTV, Musica y Mas, and the first time that the New World Symphony had hosted this kind of event.

To date, Juanes has won seventeen ‘Latin Grammy Awards’ and one ‘Grammy Award’. He received the ’BMI’ President's Award at the 2010 BMI Latin Awards.

Note that besides his music, Juanes has a serious mission to accomplish. As a result of witnessing the horrors of the drug war while growing up in his native Medellin, he has dedicated himself  to aid Colombian victims of anti personnel mines. 

Click on link to Juanes - La Camisa Negra :   http://youtu.be/kRt2sRyup6A