Juanes and His Camisa Negra!

Juanes, whose real name is Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vázquez, was born on August 9, 1972.  Juanes, who is one of the most famed Latin American singers, songwriters, and guitarists these days, was born in Medellín, Colombia.  His pen name comes from the fact that, when he was much younger, his father did not call him Juan or Juan Esteban, but “Juanes”, kind of doing a combination of the two names.  For this reason, everybody got to know him as Juanes, and later on, he decided to enter the music world with the same name.

In spite of the fact that Juanes is a young man, he relies on a very great artistic career.  Ekhymosis was the name that his first Spanish rock album received.  With the song called “Fijate Bien”, he was able to get three Latin Grammys in 2000 for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Solo Vocal Album and Best New Artist.  “Un Día Normal”, his follow-up production by the great Gustavo Santaolalla in 2002, was more than successful in Latin America too.  “Un Día Normal” went Platinum and, with it, Juanes was able to win five different awards such as Album of the Year and Song of the Year.  His most recent album, which is called My Sangre, released in 2004, was #1 on the Latin Billboard charts.

As if nine remarkable awards were not enough for Juanes, he won three more in the 2005 Latin Grammys for Best Music Video for the single “Volverte a Ver”, Best Rock Solo Album for Mi Sangre and Best Rock Song for “Nada Valgo sin tu Amor.”  In addition, Time Magazine named Juanes as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and the Adopt-A-Mainfield honored the Colombian artist for working as a Goodwill Ambassador for United for Colombia, which is a non-profit organization.  Besides, Juanes was in charge of the top musical performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany on December 9, 2005.  There, he played one of his most popular songs called “La Camisa Negra.”  Therefore, Juanes is not only a great Colombian musician, but a worldwide well-known figure, proud of Latin America.