Whereas many of his Spanish-language contemporaries undertook English-language crossover campaigns at one point or another in their careers, Columbian singer/songwriter/guitarist Juanes won global appeal in his native language exclusively and became perhaps the biggest and most important popular Latin music artist in the world in the early 21st century. Born Juan Esteban Aristizabal in Medellín, Colombia, Juanes began to learn how to play guitar at age seven, taught by his father and older brothers. His passion for the instrument led him to learn traditional Latin sounds such as boleros, tangos, and cumbias as well as Colombian folk music styles such as vallenatto and guasca.

Though his chart-topping was confined to the Latin market in the United States, Juanes was recognized for his global outreach, as Time magazine counted him among its list of "the 100 most influential people in the world today."