Juanes for Rolling Stone Colombia

‘Origen’ Story: How Juanes Rediscovered His Musical Roots

Its a typical afternoon in Florida. As usual, the weather is warm. Juanes has a glass of red wine in his hand and shows off long blond hair that reaches to his shoulders. He’s sitting in his home studio, wearing dark glasses and a black shirt. For more than a year, he’s lived under a mandatory lockdown that’s helped him find himself, giving him time to write and produce, while still questioning his career as if he were in his twenties. Now, at 48, he’s quite sure of the purpose of his art, his sound, and his strengths. A few years ago, the industry wanted to pull him away from his primary instrument, the guitar. Now he presents his new album, Origen, an honest set of covers, loaded with solos that let him express who he really is. “This is all about what I want to do, and to do it with love from my art, my origin,” he says. The last time I interviewed Juanes was in 2017, when we talked for days in Miami.