Carlos Vives

The man who took Colombia's cherished ancestral sounds around the world, Carlos Vives is one of Latin music's greatest and most beloved stars, with iconic hits such as “Pa' Mayte” and “La Gota Fría” etched into the songbook of Spanish-language classics. The famed singer and actor was born in Santa Marta in 1961, growing up on Colombia's Caribbean coast before relocating to Bogotá at 12. He became a popular telenovela actor throughout the ‘80s, launching a ballad-oriented recording career in tandem with his rising dramatic star. However, after portraying vallenato composer Rafael Escalona in a telenovela of the same name, Vives began fusing Colombian roots instruments like accordion and gaitas with glossy pop production, releasing Clásicos de la Provincia (1993) and La Tierra del Olvido (1995) to enormous acclaim. He would also inject rock music with Tropicália flair in 2004 with El Rock de Mi Pueblo, while in the next decade, reggaetón collaborations with Sebastián Yatra and Shakira introduced the exuberant legend to a new generation of fans.