Juanes returns to his obsession, professing his love for Colombia, with the single “La Plata”, which is published this Friday and whose rhythmic base based on vallenato serves to record the passion that the traditional sounds of his country arouse .
The song, which has the collaboration of his compatriot Lalo Ebratt, is published accompanied by a video recorded in colorful stages of Medellín and made by “national talent”, which reinforces the tribute to Colombia that constitutes the song.
“It refreshes a little bit what is heard and has strong coherence for what I am and where I come from,” he said in a telephone interview with Efe in Miami, where he has lived for years, the singer-songwriter, who admits that he has not ” song of this style “.
Under the production of Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres, who were behind the phenomenon “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, the song supposes a new incursion to the traditional music of his country, in this case the vallenato, native of the Colombian Caribbean, and in it combines “the accordion with the bass line,” he explains.
“It’s important for me to look at the root, the folkloric, that’s what makes us up,” says the singer of “A Dios le Pido” and who in his seven studio albums has left more than one example of his inclination to merge .
“La Plata” happens to “Pa dentro”, the single that premiered in June of last year and that will also be part of their next album, which they plan to publish this year and for which they will remain busy for the next six months, producing new material with collaborations not yet confirmed.
“Pa dentro”, composed by his compatriot Camilo Echeverry and the Venezuelans Mau and Ricky, sons of Ricardo Montaner, contains a reggaeton rhythm base, although he would never consider himself a reggaeton, “out of respect”, as he has pointed out previously.
The song that is published this Friday includes the participation of Lalo Ebratt, from the Colombian group Trapical Minds, who with his “rapeo” gives a brushstroke of current melody and, incidentally, feeds the tendency of Juanes to join with new talents and “trends”.
Convinced that “music has been democratizing more and more” and that now, due to digital platforms, “there is an approach between cultures and music”, the interpreter sees “less necessary” to sing in English as a necessary ticket for the “crossover”
“I think singing in Spanish now feels much better, people accept it more,” he says.
In this way, probably the song “Goodbye For Now”, included in his last studio album, “My plans are to love you” (2017), is one of the few English records left by Juan Esteban Aristizábal, first name of the artist .
What is certain is that “La Plata” is part of the repertoire that the one from Medellín offers in its next presentations, among which are the Bottlerock festival that will be held in May in California, as well as in Festival Únicos (Argentina), Vive Latino Festival (Mexico) and Lollapalooza (Chile) during the months of February and March.
“The last years have been opening the doors in the festivals, and that has been very special”, is a unique experience, says the singer-songwriter, winner of twenty Latin Grammy and two Grammy, and who considers “the most important” to sing Live, play your guitar before the audience and be able to offer that “magical ritual par excellence” which is a concert.
With a residence on horseback between Colombia and Miami (Florida), he recognizes that the current social and political climate in the country is “very difficult” for Latinos in the United States.
“I live in the country since 1996 and I think this is the strangest moment I’ve ever been,” he confesses, referring to the period that began with the Presidency of Donald Trump, who, he laughed, would give him a History book of Latin America and a musical instrument “so that it softens a bit”. (EFEUSA) .-
