As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the livelihoods of many, it’s hard to imagine that there are those that do not understand the dangers of the virus. We’ve lost many to the virus already, and amongst those who have since spoken up about their ordeal with COVID – singer P!nk said she almost rewrote her will – , is the Prince of Reggaeton himself, José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (aka J Balvin). The singers battle with the virus took place over summer last year and spoke about the ordeal at his recent appearance at Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World.
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Before taking the stage, the 36-year-old ‘La Canción’ singer shared:
“I had COVID before. It almost killed me. We don’t want people to feel what I felt.”
The fundraising event by Global Citizen was aimed at addressing the immediate need for wider, more equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the globe – a matter close to Balvin’s heart. Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, Balvin said that too few people are vaccinated there and across South America. He stressed:
“I want people to really know they have to vaccinate for themselves, for others, for the world,”
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Back in August last year, while accepting an award at the Premios Juventud (Youth Awards) 2020 – an awards show for Spanish-speaking celebrities in the areas of film, music, sports, fashion, and pop culture – Balvin called on people to take the virus seriously.
“At this moment, I am recovering from Covid-19. These have been some very difficult days, very complicated. Sometimes you think it’s not going to hit you, and it hit me, and it hit me very hard. I’m sending a message to all those who follow me, to all the youth, to people in general, that they take care, that this is not a joke… the virus as such exists. It’s very dangerous. Take a lot of care of yourselves,”
Balvin has been dubbed a “leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution”, with his impressive resume of five Billboard Latin Music Awards, four Latin Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and four Latin American Music Awards and two Grammy Award nominations. Despite featuring on many English tracks, the singer chooses to sing exclusively in Spanish, staying authentic to his roots and his identity. In the documentary following his rise to fame – sweetly titled ‘The Boy From Medellín’ – we see more of José, the person (his days as an undocumented immigrant, his mental health struggles, having to deal with social responsibility).
“People from Medellin know that I started from the bottom. It wasn’t luck. It was just heart, sacrifice, hard work, and a big dream. You may love me, you may not love me, but you gotta know I worked hard for it. That’s a fact.”
*Cover image credits: @jbalvin
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