Juanes to perform family, faith songs for Pope

NEW YORK -- Juanes was at home in Miami earlier this year when he received an email from his manager, "saying I was invited to sing for the Pope."

The Colombian-born singer/songwriter, who has sold more than 16 million albums around the world and collected 20 Latin Grammy Awards, was skeptical. "I replied, 'Is this the real Pope? Is this serious?'"

When Juanes, 43, learned that the request -- to perform for Pope Francis at the Festival of Families, this Saturday in Philadelphia -- was legit, he was elated. And not just because Juanes was raised Catholic, or because the event, which will also feature Andrea Bocelli and Aretha Franklin, is so high-profile.

Juanes is a deep admirer of Pope Francis's advocacy of behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. "He has stood for inclusion and respect," says Juanes, and "brought a new direction to the Church...He understands that we are all different, and that there is a lot of inequality in the world."

These are enduring concerns for Juanes, arguably as well known for his own global activism as he is for his music. His Mi Sangre Foundation was created to aid landmine victims in Colombia; he also co-founded Paz Sin Fronteras (Peace Without Borders) to promote universal harmony and human rights through music and the arts. On World Humanitarian Day on August, he helped launch the #SHAREHUMANITY campaign at the United Nations' New York headquarters.

Before and in between performing several songs, Juanes delivered a speech in which he promoted these values, and also expressed a particular "hope for a more dignified immigration process" in the USA.

"The fact is, people want a better life," Juanes says, chatting in a Manhattan hotel room during his stay. "In the history of the world, it is like this; people are moving all the time. And this country is made of immigrants, so you can't stop that."

Juanes's social consciousness has long been reflected in his songs. Growing up in a time of civil war and drug-fueled violence in Colombia, he immersed himself in South American folk music, then "became crazy with rock." He formed a band, Ekhymosis, while still in his teens. The group lasted more than a decade, after which Juanes began a solo career.

"I wrote my first love song, for real, after I met my wife," actress and Latin TV personality Karen Martinez, whom Juanes married in 2004. "On my first solo album, all the lyrics are very dark. The second one is more light, because that's how I felt when I met her. These days I always think about love. It's the most important thing."

Last February, Juanes became the first artist to deliver a Spanish-length performance on the Grammy Awards; he sang Juntos (Together), a song he'd written and recorded for the Disney film McFarland, USA. Juanes has "experimented" with English in his work, he notes, and "will probably do something in English in the future. But I wouldn't do a whole (album) in English."

Juanes notes that while he and Martinez, also a native Colombian, speak Spanish all the time to their three young children, "They speak English with their friends. They listen to Spanish music, with us, but also to American acts."

Asked what he'll perform for the Pope, Juanes says, "I have some songs that talk about family and faith and hope, so maybe one of those."