A global celebrity with a passion for performing drops in on Monterey County.

Dave Faries here, acknowledging the limits of my awareness.

Now, I’ve lived overseas and in four U.S. time zones, spent far too many years in grad school and have covered a bit of everything—including interviews with a range of recording artists, such as Joe Diffie, Melissa Etheridge and Kingfish. When freelance music writer Jesse Herwitz suggested we preview a concert by Juanes at Golden State Theatre, I drew a blank.

After reading Herwitz’s story, which appears in the current edition of the Weekly, it’s clear that I should be ashamed. All Juanes has achieved in his career is 27 Latin Grammy Awards, four Grammy Awards, 13 platinum albums…

What struck me in his story—aside from the fact that I’ve somehow been living a sheltered music life—is the enthusiasm Juanes has for performing, even after years of success. He sent a message in Spanish intended for local readers, inviting all of us to a concert “that’s going to be crazy” and promising “We have a party for you,” throwing in a number of exclamation marks along the way. As Herwitz writes, “Juanes not only embodies the essence of a global celebrity, but is also a person who genuinely loves what he does.”

This sounds fun. It was also an opportunity. Apart from the big music festivals and classical concerts, it is not often a musician of this stature drops in on Monterey County.

We are fortunate at the Weekly to have music writers of greater reach than me, obviously, and I encourage you to check out Herwitz’s story. If you already did and were moved to check out the concert, which took place last night, you had a great time. And if you are like me, you might have chuckled at Herwitz’s admonition, “If ‘La Camisa Negra’ is still your sole reference to Juanes, pick any one of his 13 certified platinum albums. There is a lot more out there to like.”

At least it gave me a starting point. I can now say that I’m a bit more aware.