Juanes

Juanes, (born August 9, 1972), born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, is a Colombian singer-songwriter-guitarist. He is a native of Medellín. His first Rock en Español band was Ekhymosis. His politically-

Juanes, (born August 9, 1972), born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, is a Colombian singer-songwriter-guitarist. He is a native of Medellín. His first Rock en Español band was Ekhymosis. His politically-minded solo debut Fíjate Bien ("Take a good look") (2000) earned him three Latin Grammys: Best New Artist, Best Rock Solo Vocal Album and Best Rock Song. The follow-up, Un Día Normal ("A Normal Day") produced by Gustavo Santaolalla (2002), was a platinum mega-hit in Latin America and dominated that year's Latin Grammys, where he was nominated for and won five awards including Song of the Year and Album of the Year. It featured "Fotografía" ("Photograph"), a duet with Portuguese-Canadian songlark Nelly Furtado on isolation between lovers. His latest album, "Mi Sangre" ("My Blood") was released in September 2004 and debuted at #1 on the Latin Billboard Charts.

He has recently become extremely popular in Germany, (and throughout much of Europe) where "Mi Sangre" has hit the Top 10 of the album chart and the extracted "La Camisa Negra" ("The Black Shirt") has hit number 1 on the singles chart. Some reports suggest that the song has recently been used as a symbol of neofascism in Europe, specifically Italy, when taken by a few fans to refer to Mussolini's Italian fascist organization nicknamed the "Black Shirts." Actually, as originally intended by Juanes himself, the song is about mourning over a dead love, and the black shirt is a sign of mourning, not of fascism.