De Colombia para el mundo, Juanes

Representing Medellín, Colombia, Juanes headlined the el Rockero stage as expected.

Coming out in a muscle tee, all black, and with long hair, Juanes remained true to his rock and rolero roots despite exploring other genres throughout his extensive career. Opening with a visual from his latest album, "Vida Cotidiana," displayed on the big screen, Juanes indicated that his music career has never halted and continues to flourish across all genres and audiences. This was evident as the crowd immediately surged forward to be closer to the stage, closer to Juanes, closer to the Colombian icon. Accompanied by a five-piece band, with Juanes himself on the guitar for every other song, he and his crew delivered hit after hit, never missing a beat or a note. The fans asked, and he delivered.

The visuals accompanying Juanes performance were far from basic, as every single song had its honoring visual that heightened the overall show. For “Fotografia”, he had the visuals of an old photo camera, mimicking the yellow-orange filter and the jittery look of a video before the digital age of photography. During “A Dios Le Pido”, all colors of the rainbow filled the screens, as the song is a genuine, from-the-heart song. Flashing the words ‘A Dios Le Pido’ across the screen to emphasize the importance of God to Juanes and his musical journey.

And the lights instead of shining on Juanes were pointed towards the crowd. Reddish and orange hues covered the crowd of people who had waited all day to see Juanes sing the love anthem that spread across all generations. "Es Por Ti" transcends time and emotion, whether it's a song sung to your family, a mother to her children, your lover, your best friend. or pet.

Coming from his metal roots, as a big-time fan of Metallica, Juanes extended the outro to “La Camisa Negra”, giving the audience what they want, a never-ending version of this immortal rock anthem. The visuals for this song allude to its emo lyrics, having formless doodles covering the live feed of Juanes, which was filtered to be black and white. Juanes would often step away from the microphone, letting the crowd sing whole verses all by themselves, hearing his devoted audience sing back to him before returning the favor and serenading us with the songs we've cherished since childhood.

Finishing with a medley of “Me Enamora” & “Oye Mujer”, the crowd went crazy when realizing what Juanes had in store for them to close out the show. To quote Juanes,

And this was evident in the crowd's enthusiastic participation, as they knew every single lyric to Juanes' one-hour set. It's difficult to overlook this icon, as he possesses style, looks, and an abundance of talent—emphasizing, this man BLEEDS talent. Even at the age of 51, Juanes continues to captivate audiences and kill it on stage.