JUANES BOOK – FIRST LOOK: "How music helped soothe his fears as a teenager growing up in the middle of a drug war in his native country and how that bloodshed influenced his sociopolitical songs"

The Newly Released April Issue of LATINA Magazine Shares A First Serial Look Inside Juanes’ “Chasing The Sun”
“FOR THE FIRST TIME, COLOMBIAN POP SUPERSTAR JUANES OPENS UP ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF HIS YOUTH, HIS MUSICAL BEGINNINGS AND MORE IN HIS EYE-OPENING MEMOIR ‘CHASING THE SUN’
– Juanes is a godsend to Latin music. Over his storied career, the Colombian singer/songwriter has won 21 Grammys and Latin Grammys, sold more than 15 million albums and established the Mi Sangre Foundation, which aids vulnerable Colombian youth. Yet while he pours his soul into his music, the rockero has drawn a zone of privacy around his personal life . . . until now. In this exclusive excerpt from his upcoming memoir, Chasing the Sun, out April 2, Juanes writes about how his discovery of heavy metal music helped soothe his fears as a teenager growing up in the middle of a drug war in his native country and how that bloodshed influenced his sociopolitical songs” – LATINA
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Here Is A Partial Excerpt: “By the time I started playing with Ekhymosis, the violence in Colombia— and especially in Medellín—was in full swing. The drug cartels had publicly declared war on the police, the military and the establishment at large. Colombia was in a constant state of threat; bombs were exploding every night and people were being murdered in droves. Clearly, all this affected the way we thought, composed music and lived in that city. We painted our canvas with brusque strokes. Even if we wanted to create a butterfly, it was impossible to ignore the patently hostile environment in which we lived. In our lyrics, we sang about what we didn’t understand, we asked questions, we vented our pain and frustration. Slowly but surely, music was becoming at once a powerful means of expression and a means of escape. We clung to it as if our lives depended on it, and we gave it everything we had, back then and still today.
One night when I was 17 years old, I went with several friends from school out to Casa Verde, a bar in an old colonial house located atop one of the many hills that dotted the El Poblado neighborhood. We sat down, placed our orders, and when the waiter returned to our table with the drinks, he suddenly said, his voice on high alert, “Get out of here—go home as fast as you can . . . There was a mass murder at another bar just around the corner.” Terrified and confused, we all ran home. A couple of hours later, the news broke on radio, TV and in the papers, and the entire country bore witness to that macabre night I’ll never forget. The newspaper lead read: On June 29, 1990, several armed men disguised as police entered the Oporto Bar shouting threats. They forced the patrons to lie facedown on the floor before shooting them point-blank in the head.
That night, 19 kids were gunned down in cold blood. Among them was a young man named Camilo—a friend from school we’d affectionately nicknamed Conavi. I’d even given him some guitar lessons. I woke up the next day hoping the events of the previous night were just a dream —a nightmare. The whole country was stunned by such a barbaric act, and I still couldn’t believe it was true. I picked up the phone and dialed Camilo’s number. Just as I had, Camilo had gone to a bar the night before to spend some time with friends. And now he was dead. I just couldn’t bring myself to believe it. I felt in my heart that if I called him, he’d answer the phone and everything would be okay. The housekeeper picked up on the other end. “Hey, could you pass the phone to Camilo, please?” She replied, sobbing, “No, Juan . . .Camilo’s dead. They killed him last night in Oporto.” And that’s when I finally came to terms with the fact that my friend was dead and that this nightmare was very real”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Fans Can Now Also Pre-Order An Exclusive Signed Copy Of Chasing The Sun Or Persiguiendo el sol
– Look For News Shortly On Juanes Book Signing Appearances In Miami, New York & Los AngelesThe Newly Released April Issue of LATINA Magazine Shares A First Serial Look Inside Juanes’ “Chasing The Sun”
“FOR THE FIRST TIME, COLOMBIAN POP SUPERSTAR JUANES OPENS UP ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF HIS YOUTH, HIS MUSICAL BEGINNINGS AND MORE IN HIS EYE-OPENING MEMOIR ‘CHASING THE SUN’
– Juanes is a godsend to Latin music. Over his storied career, the Colombian singer/songwriter has won 21 Grammys and Latin Grammys, sold more than 15 million albums and established the Mi Sangre Foundation, which aids vulnerable Colombian youth. Yet while he pours his soul into his music, the rockero has drawn a zone of privacy around his personal life . . . until now. In this exclusive excerpt from his upcoming memoir, Chasing the Sun, out April 2, Juanes writes about how his discovery of heavy metal music helped soothe his fears as a teenager growing up in the middle of a drug war in his native country and how that bloodshed influenced his sociopolitical songs” – LATINA
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Here Is A Partial Excerpt: “By the time I started playing with Ekhymosis, the violence in Colombia— and especially in Medellín—was in full swing. The drug cartels had publicly declared war on the police, the military and the establishment at large. Colombia was in a constant state of threat; bombs were exploding every night and people were being murdered in droves. Clearly, all this affected the way we thought, composed music and lived in that city. We painted our canvas with brusque strokes. Even if we wanted to create a butterfly, it was impossible to ignore the patently hostile environment in which we lived. In our lyrics, we sang about what we didn’t understand, we asked questions, we vented our pain and frustration. Slowly but surely, music was becoming at once a powerful means of expression and a means of escape. We clung to it as if our lives depended on it, and we gave it everything we had, back then and still today.
One night when I was 17 years old, I went with several friends from school out to Casa Verde, a bar in an old colonial house located atop one of the many hills that dotted the El Poblado neighborhood. We sat down, placed our orders, and when the waiter returned to our table with the drinks, he suddenly said, his voice on high alert, “Get out of here—go home as fast as you can . . . There was a mass murder at another bar just around the corner.” Terrified and confused, we all ran home. A couple of hours later, the news broke on radio, TV and in the papers, and the entire country bore witness to that macabre night I’ll never forget. The newspaper lead read: On June 29, 1990, several armed men disguised as police entered the Oporto Bar shouting threats. They forced the patrons to lie facedown on the floor before shooting them point-blank in the head.
That night, 19 kids were gunned down in cold blood. Among them was a young man named Camilo—a friend from school we’d affectionately nicknamed Conavi. I’d even given him some guitar lessons. I woke up the next day hoping the events of the previous night were just a dream —a nightmare. The whole country was stunned by such a barbaric act, and I still couldn’t believe it was true. I picked up the phone and dialed Camilo’s number. Just as I had, Camilo had gone to a bar the night before to spend some time with friends. And now he was dead. I just couldn’t bring myself to believe it. I felt in my heart that if I called him, he’d answer the phone and everything would be okay. The housekeeper picked up on the other end. “Hey, could you pass the phone to Camilo, please?” She replied, sobbing, “No, Juan . . .Camilo’s dead. They killed him last night in Oporto.” And that’s when I finally came to terms with the fact that my friend was dead and that this nightmare was very real”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Fans Can Now Also Pre-Order An Exclusive Signed Copy Of Chasing The Sun Or Persiguiendo el sol
– Look For News Shortly On Juanes Book Signing Appearances In Miami, New York & Los Angeles

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JUANES BOOK – FIRST LOOK: "How music helped soothe his fears as a teenager growing up in the middle of a drug war in his native country and how that bloodshed influenced his sociopolitical songs"

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