Juan Fernando Velasco is an Ecuadorian musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

.

Biography

Juan Fernando Velasco was born January 17, 1972 in Quito

Quito

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. He never planned to be a musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, he was preparing to become an economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 like his father. After finalizing four semesters of Economics, he realized this was not what he wanted to do and decided to dedicate fully to music.

Second album

In 2002

2002 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...

 Velasco released his second album, Tanto amor. The album reached...... platinum

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 in Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 and Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and also was a success in other countries. The songs "Chao Lola", "Dicen", "Hoy que no estás", "Si alguna vez te amé", and "Salud" were in the first places on the charts in Ecuador, Colombia, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

 and Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

.

In 2004

2004 in music

See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....

 he received the “Orden Vicente Rocafuerte” - the highest award granted by the Ecuadorian government to an artist. He was also named "Peace Ambassador" by the Interamerican Platform of Human Rights.

Initial works

Velasco's music career started when he, together with some school friends, created the band "Tercer Mundo" (Third World), which became very well known in Ecuador. After ten years with the band, he decided to continue his career alone. In 1999

1999 in music

-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....

 he released his first solo album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Para que no me olvides. The album became an instant success, qualified for the Viña del Mar festival in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and was later certified gold

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

. The song "Para que no me olvides" became a hit in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

.

Present

Since 2005 Velasco is living in Miami. In 2007 he released his third album called A tu lado. The album features contributions by Jorge Villamizar

Jorge Villamizar

Jorge Villamizar is a Colombian musician; singer and composer, leader of the band Bacilos, and one of the most representative Latin American singers. He has lived in Miami since 1992.- Early life:...

 (ex member of the group Bacilos

Bacilos

Bacilos was a Colombian group based in Miami, Florida, USA. Their album Caraluna won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Pop Latin Album and its 2004 release Sin Vergüenza has again been nominated for Best Latin Pop Album in the Grammy Awards of 2005...

) and the rapper Gerardo Mejía

Gerardo

Gerardo Mejía , better known as simply Gerardo, is a Latin rapper and singer who later became a recording industry executive. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he has based his career in Los Angeles, California since his family moved to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old. He became known for...

 and the participation of well-known musicians and engineers like Pichón Dal Mont, Mario Breuer, Xavier Garza, Carlos Villavicencio and the Grammy award winning producer Andrés Castro. The disc was nominated in 2007 for the MTV Latin Awards (Mexico, October 18, 2007) and also for the Latin Grammy Awards (Las Vegas, November 8, 2007).
Invited by Juanes, was one of seven musicians who participated in the Concert "Paz Sin Fronteras", together with Miguel Bosé, Juan Luis Guerra, Ricardo Montaner, Alejandro Sanz and Carlos Vives. The concert took place on 16 March 2008 at the Simon Bolivar bridge in Cucuta, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela.

Para que no me olvides (1999, Union Music)

1. "Lo que tu silencio otorga"
2. "Dejame"
3. "Me voy"
4. "Son uno mismo"
5. "A donde vas"
6. "Se van"
7. "Para que no me olvides"
8. "Reina"
9. "Galaxia azul"
10. "Latinoamerica"

Tanto amor (2002, Union Music)

1. "Hoy que no estas"
2. "Chao Lola"
3. "Dicen"
4. "Si alguna vez te ame"
5. "De rodar y rodar"
6. "Tarjetitas"
7. "El aguacate"
8. "Tanto amor"
9. "A tajitos de caña"
10. "Dame un instante"
11. "Angel de luz"
12. "Salud"

A tu lado (2007, Union Music)

1. "A tu lado"
2. "Yo naci aqui"
3. "Se que te iras"
4. "Frente a frente"
5. "Si te pierdo"
6. "Cancion de las simples cosas"
7. "El alma en los labios"
8. "Sueños al hombro"
9. "Nunca"
10. "No te escuche"
11. "Si no pudiera estar"
12. "Frente a frente" (remix) Gerardo Mejia

External links

• Official website