Before succeeding in music, a very young Carlos Viveswas the leading star of several Colombian soap operas. He was also known in the United States and Puerto Rico, where he came to star in a series with Chayanne in 1987.

From that success was born a first musical album with versions of pop songs, but the Vives Vive phenomenon its international emergence in 1991. He gets the lead role for the soap opera ‘Escalona’ where he played the renowned musician Rafael Escalona.

“He It looked very familiar to me.“I even went to school with my father, although I know that he was not very convinced and that he even wanted other actors to play the character, he saw me as very modern perhaps…”, Carlos Vives confesses with a laugh.

Modernizing the roots

From those modern airs that he gave to his imitations, an album was born in 1993, ‘The Classics of La Provincia’, in which he performed some classic songs with his band. of Colombian folklore,but with a different touch. “I didn’t want to make folk music, I wanted to make my rock and roll born from our roots, unite a tropical band with a rock band. The Province was the union of those worlds,” he says excitedly.

That sound was a real bombshell and a stroke of luck propelled it to lead the sales charts around the world. The manager of La Provincia got them to open for Luis Miguel in a historic concert in a packed El Campín Stadium in Bogotá.

“We got to play with Luis Miguel And it was incredible, maybe the stroke of luck was that he didn’t do so well with his legendary ‘Romances’ (laughs) and then somehow people remembered what we did,” he says. And so much so that they remembered, After that concert, the legendary album became a triple gold record and triple platinum record in 1993 and 1995.

30 years of ‘Classics of La Provincia’

Thus a myth was born. Three decades after the release of that album that established them with immortal songs like ‘Gota Frida’, Carlos Vives has sold more than 20 million records around the world. Furthermore, he has managed to become one of the ambassadors of that new sound that modernized cumbia and vallenato.

“The most beautiful thing about that was that a generation of artists came behind us. He says the phrase that a swallow does not bring summer, but we awaken things in a generation of musicians,” he says excitedly. In addition, the artist has formed numerous tandems with artists of the stature of Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Sebastián Yatra, etc.

Now presents a preview of his new work, the single ‘Women’along with Juanes, one of the key artists of the current Colombian music scene.

Concert in Madrid

To celebrate 30 years of success, Carlos Vives is also on an international tour. ‘The tour of the 30’ has already made Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia vibrate and will culminate in the legendary Bogotá stadium where they eclipsed Luis Miguel three decades ago.

Furthermore, it will land in Madrid on October 14 with a concert at Puerta de Alcalá within the celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Day, in which we will see him on stage alongside Niña Pastori, Diego Torres, Prince Royce, Ana Mena and Rozalén, among others.

Regarding the debate on the process of decolonization on the occasion of the October 12 holidaythe Colombian has held an audience with the king Philip VIto whom he has delivered a letter in which he expresses his position on the pan-Hispanic issue and against those who demand a pardon from Spain for the conquest.

“History cannot be interpreted with a current vision. I see it with music, it has helped us celebrate ourselves and reaffirm ourselves in reconcile ourselves instead of humiliating each other“(the speeches that demand forgiveness for the conquest) are of no use to us because they separate us,” says the Colombian artist.

Furthermore, it highlights the legacy of of mixed race In terms of music, he assures, “what Spanish and African culture brought is divine, I couldn’t be more in love with musical influences and Spanish, of course,” commented the musician who changed Latin music forever.