A few hours after announcing that Juanes and Morat will share the poster for the first time at the Atanasio Girardot stadium in Medellín on December 17, the organizers of the concert announced a sold out with 40,000 tickets sold.
It’s not by chance. Juanes, who just turned 50, is by far the most recognized male Colombian artist in the world. and the one that has obtained the most Latin Grammy awards during his career (he has 26); another 2 Anglo Grammys and 11 MTV awards, among others, as an exponent of national pop/rock.
Morat, on the other hand, is the Colombian revelation band of the same genre, made up of Juan Pablo Isaza Piñeros, Juan Pablo Villamil Cortés and the brothers Simón and Martín Vargas Morales.
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The friendship and closeness of Juanes with Morat is not new. They had already collaborated in 2018 on the topic kisses in war and they just released the song together 506. She had brought them closer, and still brings them closer, the commitment to compose music and play her own instruments live, on stage.
Both artists will return to Colombia after successful tours of Europe and Latin America, to meet their audience in a concert that promises to be memorable. Juanes, who did not play at the Atanasio Girardot for 15 years, and the Vargas Morales brothers, from Morat, talk about the new song, the concert in Medellín and their projects.
They repeat collaboration.
Juanes: The truth is that I am very happy and celebrating it, because with the boys there is a very good vibe, very good chemistry since I have known them, I have seen them a couple of times in shows. We sang together once in Bogotá and I was surprised. First, because of their music and, second, because for me it is important that these guys make this kind of music, so young, multi-instrumentalists, talented, writing their lyrics, their music.
Simon Vargas: We are lucky to have been able to meet and collaborate with Juanes. We met him many years ago and the way he makes music, the defense of music with instruments on stage, has always been a reference for us. We had made this song in the studio, called 506and we were thinking who we could call to add his voice, and in the end we thought of Juanes and breaking that fear in pop and rock of collaborating with the same person more than once.
How did you come to this new collaboration?
Juanes: The Morat invited me to participate in the song, they recorded their part and later I recorded here in my home studio. Always connected with them by FaceTime or whatever to square the details. Then we were in Madrid, where we made the video together and that’s how the song was conceived.
Martin Vargas: We had the song, we recorded the instrumental part and Juanes recorded his voice and sent it to us. For the video we square dates and agendas.
Since childhood, one
one of the most important referents is Juanes,
he was that person who got up on a stage with his guitar, with his band, to defend music with instruments
There was already an affinity in the collaborations.
Simon Vargas: Yes, without a doubt, and it is very evident. Since they were little, one of the most important references is Juanes, he was that person who got up on a stage with his guitar, with his band, to defend music with instruments.
Martin Vargas: It’s curious, because we love collaborations, we have had the opportunity to collaborate with many people we admire, there are already a couple of collaborations on this album, one that already came out with Duki, in which we set out to collaborate with people who were not obvious, but 506 It’s a song with which we had high expectations, we saw a lot of potential, we wanted to collaborate with someone very important and a Juanes jumped out at us. We already did it once, it worked, let’s do it again. And it is very nice that as a result of this second time the opportunity to do the concert opens up. A universe begins to be created around Juanes and Morat that makes this concert take on a very special importance in our career, without a doubt, and for the moment that Juanes lives.
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What does ‘506’ mean?
Martin Vargas: The story describes the moment when a person passes through apartment 506 and remembers that other person with whom he had a relationship. It’s that feeling of remembering the nice things in a relationship, to the point where you question whether or not it should have ended. One of the goals in the songs is to put sentences and contexts that can be easily visualized, like the story of the bride who lived in 506.
What sensations do you get from playing together in Medellín?
Juanes: Too much emotion and immense joy, because it is my city, the place where I was born and grew up. Returning to Atanasio Girardot, which is an iconic venue, to play again means too much. I really like the date because it’s December, the end of the year. I think it’s going to be very exciting for me personally to stand on that stage again and sing my songs. The first time we were in the stadium (Atanasio Girardot) was 15 years ago. Let’s throw the house out the window. For me to return to my city to play, to the stadium and with the Morat is crazy. It is a mix of several generations.
Martin Vargas: Very excited, a large part of our family is from Medellín. We are clear that Medellín is dominated by the urban genre, it is also the cradle of reggaeton and the urban genre, which we respect and love. We believe that the entry of a band means many things and for us doing it with Juanes is also an opportunity to conquer an audience. We feel that this concert comes at a very particular moment, we all know the moment that music in Spanish is experiencing. Being able to go out and rescue the band concerts, with live music and instruments fills us with emotion and makes this concert special for us.
Simon Vargas: Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to play as often in Medellin as we would like. We played there in 2017, we know that we owe a great concert to all the people who listen to us, and to our followers, and being able to do it hand in hand with Juanes is crazy, without a doubt it adds a lot of magic to the fact that we are coming back.
(Read also: The return of Juan Palau: a fusion of two worlds)
Let’s throw the house out the window. For me to return to my city to play, to the stadium and with the Morat is crazy. It is a mixture of several generations
What projects are you working on right now?
Juanes: The most immediate thing is that I just finished my new album of unreleased songs and I am very excited about that album, which I hope will come out next year, sometime in the first half, maybe one song this year, maybe the rest next year. I put two years of hard work, a lot of discipline. (“It will have ‘social songs,’ specifically a theme about forced disappearance in Colombia,” he said in a recent interview).
Simon Vargas: It is the first time that we tour Europe, that we play in Rome, and we are going to be in Paris, London, Amsterdam; and we were already in Lisbon. This speaks of the frontiers of music in Spanish, more and more it is possible to speak in Spanish where it might sound surprising that one is doing it.
Juanes: From ‘Look well’ to ‘Origin’
From ‘Look well’ to today, how does Juanes see himself?
I’d say I’m still the same person. I have matured in many things, I have learned many lessons, I feel that today I can be a calmer and happier person, that is clear. At that time, perhaps, there was too much anxiety, too much not knowing what was going to happen. Today I have more clarity on many issues, I have made many mistakes, but those mistakes have helped me to correct myself and that correction of the path makes me feel that I am going in the right direction. In essence I am the same, I feel that there is much of that moment that is still here.
ORLANDO RESTREPO
WEATHER EDITOR
On Twitter: @oleonn84
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Juanes and Morat, the union of two rock generations