Colombian star Juanes has chosen Havana, Cuba as the site of his next “Paz Sin Fronteras” concert on Sept. 20, according to his Twitter feed.
“It’s time to start knocking down our own mental walls, to not judge anyone for their way of thinking, their social class or their politics,” Juanes wrote. “Our Cuban brothers need us and we need them. I’m talking about a peace concert on Sept. 20…raise your voice, and let’s put aside our ideological differences.”
Juanes, who visited Cuba last week and recently met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to gather support for the concert, organized a concert for peace on March 16, 2008 in the wake of a near-war over a Colombian anti-guerrilla raid in Ecuador. The free concert at a bridge connecting Colombia and Venezuela drew 100,000 people to watch performances by Juanes, Carlos Vives, Ricardo Montaner, Alejandro Sanz, Miguel Bose, Juan Luis Guerra and Juan Fernando Velasco.
This time, the “Peace Without Borders” concert is timed to the annual International Day of Peace, Sept. 21. According to Juanes’ Web site, the same artists as last year are slated to perform, with artists from Mexico, Brazil, the U.S. and Cuba also to be invited.
Last year’s concert was funded by donations and televised commercial-free, without sponsors.
During his June 25 visit to Cuba, Juanes reportedly met with singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez. Rodriguez alleged in May that he missed a performance at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday tribute concert in New York due to the U.S. government not approving his visa in time.
