“More than my career, we celebrate the growth of music”

The Colombian singer-songwriter, Carlos Vives, stepped foot again on Friday at the Nemesio Camacho ‘El Campín’, in Bogotá, not only to announce that the ’30s Tour’ will close there, a tour that will take him through Latin America, Europe and the United States States, regarding the celebration of three decades of his musical career, but to talk about how the tribute, beyond himself and his band, is dedicated to the musical growth of his country and how, thanks to this, the world see Colombia with good eyes.

“More than the career of an artist or a musical group, we celebrate all the beautiful things that have happened to our music, how it has grown in these 30 years. Everything that was born after we started making those classics and after we released that record from the ‘Land of Oblivion’of everything that was happening in Colombia and what began to happen from the regions with our music”, said the Colombian artist to the voice of america.

Vives is known in his land for being a mentor to many artists, even with the support of his production company Gaira Música Local, and for paving the way for new talent. But, for him, during his 30-year career, his country’s vision in the world has changed thanks, precisely, to all of them.

“I believe that music, art, our artists have brought an image of Colombia to the world different from what was more conventionally known, so celebrating these 30 years for me is not only celebrating Carlos Vives and La Provincia, but celebrate that musical heritage and everything we discover on this path”, said the artist, winner of 17 Latin Grammy opportunities.

This year, samarium will not only tour the world with its great classics, but it has just released its most recent album ‘Escalona: It had never been recorded like this’, in which he reinterprets great hits written by maestro Rafael Escalona, ​​with the company of musicians from his legendary band.

“It was exciting to face and dedicate this year to celebrate the minstrels, to celebrate the old men who gave us that musical heritage with which we later invented the Rock of my town, and a new generation of Colombian pop has also climbed in local music and world music, so I think it’s 30 years to celebrate beautiful things about our country, our music, our old artists, those of the present and those who are also coming to the future,” Carlos said. in a press conference.

During the tour, Carlos Vives will offer a great show with hits from the records with which he has traveled the world, such as ‘Clásicos de la provincia’, ‘El rock de mi pueblo’, ‘Tengo Fe’, ‘Déjame entrar’, ‘El amor de mi tierra’, ‘Corazón Profundo I y II’, ‘Cumbiana I y II’, ‘Vives ‘which -he assured- are the result of long work.

“It’s been 30 years of experimenting because we haven’t fully learned everything we have from that diverse musical heritage, just because we are Colombians…”, he told reporters.

“When we made our musical proposal, the industry was not very clear about it, they did not fundamentally believe in it, and then, of course, when it started to work, they said: it works because it is Carlos Vives; but the most beautiful thing afterwards is that music figures began to appear, and a new generation that also invented its Colombian identity, a new sound”, said the 61-year-old samario, referring to artists such as Juanes, Shakira, Fonseca , Camilo, among others.

Bogotá, “the goal we need to score”

30 years ago, on June 12, Carlos Vives appeared for the first time at the capital’s stadium, as the opening act for the Mexican singer Luis Miguel. Thirty years later, on this same stage, he will close the tour to celebrate three decades of his career.

For him, in Bogotá it is “the goal he needs to score”, where “the game of his life” will be played, as a tribute, in addition to those who he called his “Colombia team” -that is, the artists who have accompanied him since 1991, when he created La Provincia, like the accordion player Egidio Cuadrado, the bagpiper Mayte Montero, the drummer Pablo Bernal, among others-, but also the artists who have signed with his label.

“We have a very beautiful history of our concerts here, it is a great opportunity because it was always that the big stadiums were for artists from other places and that history began to change with us, with our artists and El Campín became a stage now not only for the big bands in the world, but for local music,” said Carlos.

In this way, being in Bogotá on December 15, he confesses, means closing a work cycle of three decades.

“Coming back and closing our 30’s tour, I think it’s something like spiritual, special, to be able to do that concert,” he added.

And, as he himself affirms, there is Carlos Vives for a while. For now, he wants to be remembered as “a good Colombian”, because he says that his mission has been to work for his country: “I think there is still a long way to go, there is still a lot to discover… and I am sure that new generations will come who are better than us”

“I will dedicate the time that I have left describing all this, to continue to impress myself with everything I discover about everything that we are as a culture, but also impacting the world and the people, especially reaching the hearts of Colombians… and understanding that we can build a future as a country and I say it through music”, he added.

And it is precisely because the artist says that, despite the harsh circumstances that sometimes mourn his homeland, he wants his music not to escape reality, but “so that we understand everything we are as Colombians, so that let us recognize each other and leave those historical differences that have not helped us to build a unique country for all, where we all think and dream the same, share the same dream of the country”.

Vives’ tour will begin on Sunday in Peru, then he will visit Chile and Argentina in June, and will visit different cities in the United States in August, October and November.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.