Juanes Opens Up To Me in NY about His Cuba Concert

If you have seen Mega TV this past week, you've noticed that we were "All Polito, all the time," making the most of our two day concert last week where we honored Polito Vega, a Latin radio pioneer and member of the SBS family. As I mentioned before, I worked the green room during the concerts, doing interviews and recording promos and personal messages to Polito from the celebrities.

What I did not expect, and what I jumped into, fingers crossed, eyes closed, was the opportunity to conduct an in depth interview with Latin music's top artist, Juanes, regarding one of the most controversial issues currently making headlines in Spanish media. For background on the controversy surrounding Juanes' planned Sept 20th Paz Sin Fronteras(Peace Without Borders)concert in Cuba , see here for different perspectives. Suffice to say an interview with Juanes was "THE MUST GET INTERVIEW" of the moment.

So what happened? Well, Juanes was in the green room, ready to record the requisite material, and as I waitied for my turn to ask him a few questions, I was warned NOT to bring up his Cuba concert. If I did, he would walk out on Polito's event.

Finally, my turn came up and there I was facing a huge dilemma. I started asking him about his feelings for Polito, his decision to be a part of this concert, his incessant use of twitter, all the while debating what to do in my head. Would I heed the warning, would I really be the reporter, standing in front of Juanes, mic in hand, who let him walk away after a few trivial questions? Or should I ask about Cuba and run the risk of ruining Polito's concert?

But, as both of us relaxed, after about the third question, he just did not strike me as the type of person who would cancel such an important appearance because of a simple inquiry. Plus, in life I learned that the worst anyone can ever tell you is "no" or "no comment" and walk away.... So I had to do this! I started with, "So how are the preparations for your Cuba concert coming along?" His answer was very calm, very honest and his feet seemed planted on the ground- he didn't seem to be going anywhere! So I continued asking him questions about this Peace Without Borders concert, his opinions on the reactions, his plans to remedy his reputation among upset Cuban-Americans, and his overall philosophy of why he thought this was important.

And perhaps it was because of the tone of my questions, or maybe he was just ready to share and I caught him at the perfect time, but something very surreal happened. His answers became increasingly heartfelt and genuine. About mid way through the interview, we both noticed that the entire green room, full of dozens of artists and handlers had gotten absolutely silent- everyone paying attention to what we all realized was an important moment happening right then and there. The air became electrified and tense...and when it was all over and Juanes finally did walk away, I let out the biggest sigh of relief I think I ever have after an interview... I literally felt exhausted!

But at the same time, I felt very proud to have had the courage to ask the tough questions, even after I was told by someone in Juanes' entourage not to. The idea that I would have caused Juanes to not participate in the NYC concert scared me to death, but when we spoke, I felt that he wanted to open up. I also think he felt comfortable with the situation, speaking in NY rather than Miami, to someone who isn't Cuban-American and may not have the bias of other journalists. And he was of course a complete professional about it, despite how personal this issue was to him.

After the interview and his performance, I ran up to tell him how nervous I was during the interview, and he responded that he too was nervous, and that he hoped I wouldn't get flak for talking to him. He was more concerned about negatively affecting my career than anything. But those worries were unfounded, as the Mega TV family loved the interview, and I made the rounds on most of the shows discussing the experience. This 20 minute clip created lots of late nights of work, but it was all worth it. In the end, success comes to you once you learn to get out of your own way!

Here is the interview in two parts, which was broadcast on Maria Elvira Live on Mega TV.