Juanes Arrived With His Wet Feet At His First Latin Grammy

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

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During the press conference in which the 2001 Latin Grammy nominations were announced, Juanes was thrilled to hear his name - and another less pleasant sensation with each step he took on that stage in Miami. “I had arrived from Central America the day before and I had soaked Nike sneakers because it had rained and got me wet,” laughs the 47-year-old Colombian. “I put them to dry in the window of the house where I was staying and they did not dry; then I came with wet tennis shoes”.

Eighteen years later, the interpreter of "The black shirt" will come with his feet dry and well planted on the ground to his recognition as "The person of the year" of the same Latin Recording Academy that awards the Latin Grammy. “When I found out, the first thing I said [was:] 'But me? This is serious?' I could never imagine so many things that are happening”, says gratefully Juanes, who celebrates twenty years as a soloist with his CD on the doorstep, More Future than Past (Universal Music Latin). “[I feel] a lot calmer. I enjoy the moment more, sing. I am in a very cool moment of fullness.”

One that he shares with his wife Karen Martínez, 40, and their three children: Luna, 16; Paloma, 14; and Dante, 10. "The Grammys became a door that [opened] opportunities for me," said the lover of the band Metallica. “It is a tribute from colleagues. It is going to be a very beautiful moment for my mom, my wife, my children”.