Juanes was born in Carolina del Principe, Antioquia, Colombia, on August 9, 1972.  When he was seven years old, his father and brothers began to teach him how to play guitar.  His passion for the instrument led him to discover diverse genres of music such as traditional Latin sounds such as tango and bachata, as well as Colombian folk music. 

He grew up in Medellin during the height of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar's reign, when the city had the highest homicide rate in the world.  During his childhood, Juanes witnessed a civil war in which thousands were killed. He was greatly affected by the violence; his cousin was executed by kidnappers, and his close friend was murdered by gunmen.  He believes that this period of time shaped his social consciousness, saying "Colombia has suffered so much that the only way to go forward is to imagine a better country."  His father also died of cancer when he was a child, which caused him to further retreat into music.

As a teenager, Juanes was greatly influenced by metal acts such as Metallica. He started the metal band Ekhymosis in 1988, and it released its self-produced debut album, Niño Gigante, the same year.  The band released five studio albums during its career and shared the stage with acts including Alejandro Sanz, Ateriopelados, and Ricky Martin however in Juanes' words, the band "couldn't get out of Colombia" and remained "very local and confined to the Colombian market."  Juanes disbanded the group in 1998 so that he could pursue a solo career.

In 2000, his solo debut album Fijate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.  Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums. He has won seventeen Latin Grammy Awards, winning more than any other artist. He has also won one Grammy Award.  Juanes received the  BMI President’s Award at the 2010 BMI Latin Awards.  Juanes is also known for his humantitarian work, especially with aid for Colombian victims of anti-personnel mines.

Juanes has said that: "these are your people, young people, people with families, and four or five of them are dying every day."  Juanes established the Mi Sangre Foundation to help victims of anti-personnel mines.  In 2005, he was named by Time Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people.  Juanes has supported former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, stating that "with this new government of Álvaro Uribe my country seems in better shape."  On November 15, 2005, he was honored at the annual benefit gala for Sir Paul McCartney's Adopt-A-Minefiled for his work as a Goodwill Ambassador for United for Colombia, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about the impact of landmines within Colombia.

Juanes is also an activist for his native Spanish language; he has stated many times that while he respects native Spanish-speaking
artists who choose to sing in English (such as fellow Colombian singer Shakira), he himself will not sing in English in order to best express himself (since he thinks and feels in Spanish) and to promote the Spanish language. One exception was his duet with Tony Bennett for the song "The Shadow of your Smile." Also recently his new song "Odio por amor" includes one line in English: "It's Time To Change". He also sang a few lines of English during a duet performance with John Legend during the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.

Source:  wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanes

(1972-08-09)